


Sun Dragon

by TalesOfOnyxBats



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, Mental Health Issues, Mental Institutions, Unethical Experimentation, patient abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-17 08:50:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15457668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalesOfOnyxBats/pseuds/TalesOfOnyxBats
Summary: Zuko has Azula sent off to an institution for a fourth time. But this time he can't shake the feeling that something is off. Upon seeing her arms bruised and scratched he begins to suspect that the institution mistreats their patients.





	1. Chapter 1

Azula's state was more than fragile. He was only doing what he thought was best at the time. She was still chained to the iron gate when they arrived to take her away. This was her third major break since the comet—fourth if one included the one on the day of the comet. Zuko forced himself to watch; she was still putting up a fight—a good one at that. Screaming fire, jerking violently, attempting to bite them if they got close enough.

She looked like an animal…an animal that had found the body of a human and took it over. She was nothing like the calm and collected Azula he knew.

Eventually Ty-Lee was summoned to chi block her.

He watched her body grow limp, head hitting the ground with a slightly concerning force. She whimpered at the pavement's greeting.

Two men lifted her limp from. Her tired eyes focused on the ground. And then she stared right at Zuko…her gaze spitting every ounce of rage within her small body into Zuko's soul. Anger, hurt, confusion, accusation, all hitting Zuko at once—all from that one short glance.

Briefly he considered reaching out, touching her hand, and offering her words of comfort. Briefly he considered telling the men to put her down and let him care for his sister.

He couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Worry not Firelord Zuko, we'll take good care of her."

"I'll come check on her in three days."

Zuko made his way to the institution door. The place seemed rather nice…calming. It had a lovely pond out front, a lazy looking cherry blossom dancing in the water's reflection. The place smelled of the tree, it was a sweet smell…a springtime fragrance.

Zuko pulled the pinewood doors open.

The woman behind the desk gave a slight bow. "I'll send for the princess right away."

As he awaited Azula's arrival he gave the interior a scan. It looked quite nice as well; nicely carpeted floors with floral wallpaper…red and magenta in color—to look like the cherry blossom tree, he decided. There wasn't much furniture aside from an elegant gold lamp and a small table set or two off to the right side of the room. A golden chandelier—made to match the lamp hung from the ceiling, bobbing slightly in the draft coming from the door he had forgotten to shut.

Zuko stood and pushed the door shut.

Upon turning around he found his eyes locking into Azula's.

She didn't look all that better. Her eyes seemed to have lost that wild animalistic gleam though. Her bangs were still choppy and uneven and in her face. He moved to brush them out of her eyes, but the girl hissed and flinched away. Well…away as she possibly could with the two nurses standing behind her.

"I came to give you your things." Zuko started.

"Hand her things to me." Came a voice from behind.

He was a tall thin man with a clean shaven face and well-groomed slicked back black hair. He ran a hand over his deep red suit, smoothing a wrinkle in the fabric. He held out a hand. "Tang-Shin. Lead therapist and head of Cherry Creek Asylum."

Zuko took his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Your sister would say otherwise." He chuckled.

A visible scowl bought life to Azula's otherwise deadpanned expression.

"I'll sort through her things and give her only the items that she can't use to bring herself harm."

"Is she going to be okay?" Zuko asked after a moment."

"Of course, of course. We'll see to it that she gets our most comfortable room. Do you wish to see where she will be staying?"

"That would make me feel a bit…more easy with the…situation."

"Yes of course." Tang-Shin motioned for Zuko to follow him.

Azula's room was only a little ways down the hall. It was spacious and cozy. Her bed seemed well enough—sure it wasn't as big as the one she'd used back at home but the mattress was soft, the pillows fluffy, and the blankets warm. Aside from that there really was no furniture. However there was a window…barred, but a window no less. And the view it provided was easy on the eyes.

He looked over at Azula, she pushed past him and sat on her bed.

"You can send a messenger hawk..." Zuko looked over to Tang-Shin, "you don't mind her writing me occasionally if she wants. Do you?"

"Not at all Firelord Zuko. The girl may write you as much as she wishes."

"I do want you to write me Azula. Let me know that you're okay."

"But I'm not." Azula didn't turn from the window. "I'm not okay. I don't like it here. And I don't like them." She glanced at the staff for a moment.

"I'll be here to pick you up in a week." Zuko put a hand on her shoulder.

She swatted it away.

"Alright. I guess I'll see you in a week then." The hope leaving his face.

"Yeah…a week." She mumbled. "See you in a week."

"I'm sorry I have to leave you in an institution again. But this one looks a lot nicer than the last one." Zuko replied. "I'm doing this because I care about you." This would be his fourth time dropping her off and it didn't get any easier.

For him anyways.

At least where guilt was concerned. Sure Azula still put up a fight, but each time she seemed to go down easier…and was less spiteful towards him. But that guilt…he tore at his entire being.

She nodded. "I know."

The hope reignited. She seemed much better…sounded much better.

"Kirah and Zhu-Ling will take care of your sister as I show you out." Tang-Shin motioned the women to do just that.

He took a last glance back at his little sister. An unsettling feeling beginning to knot his stomach. Something felt wrong about this. He couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy. The feeling seemed to come from nowhere. The place looked nice enough…the staff kind and caring.

"Is there something wrong, Firelord Zuko?" Tang-Shin asked.

A horrendous cry washed over his response. The woman was young with sandy colored hair and frenzied green eyes—must be from the Earth Kingdom. She was thrashing and kicking at the nurses with a ferocity and desperateness unknown to Zuko. All of the woman's words were delivered through a high-pitched shriek; "Help me! They're gonna kill me! They're going to kill me like they killed Eesouk."

Zuko's unease tripled in intensity. "What's she…"

"Her name is Hiru. She's like your sister; hears voices, sees things. Eesouk was one of the voices. You see, we found this new herbal remedy that silences the voices. After we gave it to Hiru, she could no longer hear Eesouk. She's been screaming about how we killed him ever since." Tang-Shin explained. "But that's our job is it not? To get rid of the voices?"

"Azula's not going to…"

Tang-Shin cut him off again. "Hiru is far gone. One of our…extreme cases. She seemed to like the voices. Your sister seems to want them gone."

Zuko nodded. "I suppose that makes sense. Tell Hiru I wish her a well recovery."

"Your message will go through."

It took all of Zuko's will power to push through those doors and leave Azula to the staff and her own accord. His sense of dread never truly dying down. He had hoped that the further from Sun Dragon island he grew the less dread he'd have.

But a hope was all it was.

"I'm making a mistake Mai I can feel it."

"Of course you feel like you're making a mistake. She's your sister. It's normal to feel…queasy about locking her away. Even though she's a real piece of work."

Zuko let his fear-induced rage get the best of him, at least for an instant, when he pounded his fist on the table.

"Look, she'll be back over here…though I don't think it's a good thing…in a week. You have nothing to worry about, Zuko." Mai cupped her hand over his. "She'll be fine, she's Azula."

"She'll be fine. She's Azula." Zuko repeated to himself.

He'd never seen a week pass slower.

He'd received no message from Azula—not even one hawk. On the third messageless day, Zuko found himself questioning whether or not this was a good idea again. Mai had tried to put a stop to his 'paranoid rants' claiming he'd end up with Azula if he didn't.

But as any other…the week did come to a close.

He found himself leaning against the front desk. "What do you mean, you're not releasing Azula yet?"

"She's gotten worse. We have to keep her a week longer." Kirah replied.

"Can I at least see her?"

"No."

"As your Firelord I demand…"

"No need for demands, Firelord." Tang-Shin flashed him a near forced smile. "Your I'll be back with your sister in a moment."

That moment was spent with Zuko glaring down Kirah until the woman turned her head.

He didn't hear Azula approach. She looked rather worse than before; pale, much thinner—sickly so, the circles beneath her eyes darker. She only offered him a hazy expression. One that said Azula wasn't quite there.

"I was going to take you home today. Trust me I really want to…"

"Go away Zu-Zu." Her voice seemed distant. "I don't want to talk to you."

"Why haven't you sent me any letters?" Was all Zuko could manage.

"I don't want to talk to you." She repeated. Her speech seemed unusually slow and slurred.

Zuko felt himself growing frustrated and impatient. Before he left her she seemed…willing to get along with him. And here she decided that she'd make a victim of him again—or as much as a victim as she possibly could make him.

He took a deep breath, the last thing she needed was for him to snap at her. That'd probably only serve to set her off. "Azula, I want you to get better so you can come home."

She seemed to be nodding off. Falling deeper and deeper into herself, into that hazy state. "Don't want you here." She muttered. "Don't want to see you." She lifted her left arm and pointed to the door.

That slight lift was all it took to send her sleeve sliding down her arm, revealing something akin to a bad accident. Her arm was a collage of scratches and bruises.

"What happened to her arm?" Zuko shouted.

"This," Tang-Shin took hold of Azula's beaten arm, "is why she's staying with us longer. She clawed her own arm up during one of her episodes." He paused. "Now, Firelord, I believe it's best you head home. Your presence only stresses her out more."

"I'll come to check on her again later this week." Zuko declared. He watched Azula's body sway slightly, she looked almost dizzy…very disoriented. "Don't let her hurt herself again." He added more firmly. Various punishments for them swimming through his head.

"We'll do our best. Your sister is…tricky. A bit hard to manage."

There was something Zuko didn't like about Tang-Shin. The way he spoke was all too diplomatic. All too calm. The man himself was much too smug. He had this agitating air of arrogance, one that a simple asylum owner should really have.

He watched Kirah and Zhu-Ling carry his delirious sister off.

His heart ached for her.

Zuko felt more unnerved leaving her this second time than the first. The feeling was driving him as loony as Azula herself. He had to talk to Mai, she always seemed to put things into perspective for him.

"Something is wrong." He informed Mai once again.

"How so?"

"I went to visit Azula. They told me I couldn't bring her home. She was all scratched and bruised; they said she did it to herself…"

"Yeah. There is something wrong with Azula if that's what you're getting at." Mai shrugged.

"No, that's not what I'm trying to get at. Mai! She doesn't do that. I've seen her breakdown a lot—major nor minor, she's never hurt herself."

"Zuko, maybe this one is worse than…"

"But she looked better Mai. When I saw her to give her, her things she looked almost fine."

"What do you think is happening then, Zuko? Where do you think the bruises are coming from?"

"I don't know. Another patient." He went silent for a second. "One of the nurses."

"Zuko, that's a bit farfetched don't you think?"

"This place rubs me the wrong way. Azula looked fine and suddenly she has to stay another week. No messager hawks…"

"They're just doing their jobs. If she's not better they aren't going to release her. Maybe she's still peeved that you left her there."

"Azula didn't seem that mad."

"You said it yourself, Azula always lies." Mai pointed out.

"She said she didn't want to see me today. If Azula always lies then she must have wanted me to stay."

"Zuko, now you're just being snide."

"I'm just worried about her Mai. I don't know why they seem so opposed to me seeing Azula."

"Don't worry about it. If something doesn't seem right to you next week then I might jump aboard the Zuko the S.S Suspicious Ship."

Zuko couldn't help but to laugh. "Alright. Fine, you win."

"I always do."

And yet he still couldn't shake the feeling that something twisted was taking place a sea away on Sun Dragon Island.


	2. Chapter 2

It was all foggy.

She couldn't quite remember where she was.

It was dark.

He was behind her. His hand running through her dirty raven hair. One of his fingers got caught in the tangles. Her jerked it out, pulling a few strands with it. Her scalp painfully pinching as her hair released its hold on her flesh.

Her unfocused eyes wandered around the room.

Narrow.

Dim.

Of an off white, yellowing color.

She felt a hand on her shoulder.

There was a door.

The shoulder left her arm. Her eyes settled on his lips. They were moving, saying words. She heard no sound…not through the loud fuzz in her head. She can barely make out the rest of his face through the misty white.

Why was everything so cloudy?

Azula was so dizzy. She felt her body loll to the side, her stomach slightly queasy. Her legs were practically moving themselves—wobbly and shaky, but moving no less. She came to the door, pressing her hand to its cold metal surface. Her delicate, slender fingers sliding over the chipping paint.

She heaved it open; it took a lot more effort than in should have.

The woman was strapped to an operating table of some sort, her sandy hair—rather the clumps left of it were speckled with dry clotted flakes blood. Azula shook her head in an attempt to shake the fog away. It was obscuring her view profoundly.

She squinted, her vision clearing enough to make out some sort of monstrosity. The woman's arms bulged in odd places, oozing some sort of mushy, sludgy substance. There may have been some blood and pus in the mix, she couldn't quite tell.

The woman's stomach was also rather swollen, the same slop seeping between crusty openings in the stitches.

Moving her eyes back up to the girl's face, Azula came upon even more sloppy stich work train-tracking along her used-to-be hairline.

Despite her better judgment she reached out to touch them. Her pointer just barely making contact.

The girl flinched, her eyes popping open against yet another set of stitches, in turn tarring their lids.

The woman started howling in pain. It was an abrupt sound, Azula jumped back knocking into a rack of tools—one of which etching a thin line into her delicate skin before it met the floor.

The fog dispersed for a moment in time.

She was lucid.

To a degree anyways.

The pain registering fully.

She heard another ear-piercing scream. It sounded like her own. It took Azula far longger than it should have to realize that the sound was in fact emitting from her body.

There was a new commotion, this one coming from outside the door.

"I thought I told you to stay put!" The man scolded.

_The man…the man…_

_Who was he?_

She cocked her head taking him in.

His lips were moving again. "What do you think you're doing, wandering off?"

_His lips…right…_

_The last time she saw them they weren't making any words._

_And yet here he was yelling at her for not obeying him. If he wanted obedience then maybe he should have made sounds with that mouth._

Her hands were still trembling…no, she realized, her entire body was trembling. She wracked her cloudy brain for the reason. She should remember the cause wasn't that far in the past. The image resurfaced in her head.

_The woman!_

_The mangled woman!_

_And she was still in the room. She was in the room with Azula._

Azula let out a sharp cry again…her mind so distant from her body it again didn't occur to her that she was the one yelling. She then found herself pointing to the operating table with that foreign trembling arm outstretched in front of her.

She hadn't even realized she had lifted her arm, her mind was having much trouble keeping up with the body it was attached to.

His lips were moving again. His brows at a furious arch.

He slapped his hand over her mouth, pushing the sound right back into it.

"Now. I'm going to move my hand and you are going to stop with all this fuss. And you're going to find it in that broken tiny mind of yours to focus. Understand?" His hand dropped. His face bunched up as he quickly wiped that hand on the leg of his pants.

The girl was completely appalling in this groggy state.

He pointed to the operating table. "Whatever you see there. It's not real."

Azula blinked really hard…twice. The woman was still there and just as grotesque as before.

"That's all in your pretty little head. I don't know what it is that you think you see, but we're going to put an end to it now."

 _Medications, he must mean._  She'd been on them since her first collapse.  _But she'd already taken them this morning._

 _Didn't she?_  That morning had been a blur, as had been the day prior. She could have sworn Zu-Zu had come by this morning. But she didn't remember talking to him. She found herself slapping her palm to her head, trying to bat the memory to the surface.  _What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she recall…anything?_

"But she's there." Was that her voice? "I saw…see her. She's…"

"Not real." The man— _Tang Shin! That was his name!—_ finished. His hand clasped around her injured wrist, she hissed in pain. She found herself being tugged out of the room and down the hall. Azula knew then and there she'd probably be in the white room again. She didn't like the white room. It was lonely. It was soft.  _Soft and lonely_ —Azula hummed inwardly— _soft and lonely_. The mantra churning over and over within her dulled brain.

"You've given us all quite a hassle today." Tang-Shin continued. "I think some time to yourself would do you well…." He glanced at the tired eyed girl trailing behind him. "…Princess." He added begrudgingly.

She nodded affirmatively. At what? She couldn't say. His lips were just moving again. She simply didn't want to get yelled at anymore, so nodding yes seemed like a good thing to do.

"Good girl." He rubbed his hand over her head in such a way a dog owner would his precious companion.

The iron door to the white room opened with a metallic screech. He nudged her inside. "Oh yes, I almost forgot…" He turned his back to the princess. "Zhu-Ling…the jacket."

Zhu-Ling and her lovely twin, Kirah stepped into the picture. They tightened the jacket around Azula's body, snugly at first, and then tighter and tighter still until she could feel her ribs and innards coming so close they may fuse into each other.

She gasped for air. It didn't come to her. Her middle was squeezed all too tight, there was no room for intaking air…for her lungs to expand. So they simply did not.

"Too tight." Tang-Shin half muttered, half growled.

The twin nurses loosened it—but only enough for the young fire princess to suck in her breaths—certainly not to a comforting fit.

"I will see you in the morning." Tang-Shin declared as he shut the door.

She was alone again in that bright, bright, white room.

Azula rocked herself back and forth. It was an unconscious movement, like all else, she didn't realize she was doing it.

She had done it for hours before her body grew weary and gave out on itself. She flopped, drunkly over.

Thank Agni for the cushions.

The firebender heard a giggle split the silence. She turned her head in its direction. In the corner stood a young boy; hair a raven black, eyes wide and coppery. His silky red robes draping much too large over his childish build.

It was Ling-Ling.

Ling-Ling was her favorite.

Ling-Ling stopped by often when Azula went unmedicated. But unlike her mother and some of the other dreary voices she accepted—and sometimes wanted—his presence when she was lonely.

"Azula where are you? I kno-ow you're in there." He said in a sing song voice, playfully knocking on her head with his tiny fists.

_Azula?_

_Azula? Who was that?_

_Oh right! It was her…it is her. She is Azula._

Azula looked up at Ling-Ling. She readied herself to say that she was here. But she wasn't quite sure it was true… _Azula's not home_ —she realized—not here at the moment… _not entirely anyways_. But she didn't know why.

"Ya oughta stop taking those things." Came another voice. This one belonged to HeeKul. He was a burly Earth Kingdom man with a wicked looking beard. He reminded her of her father…if the man was an earthbender…with a sense of humor.

Azula honestly didn't know how she felt about him.

"Yeah. Ya gotta stop." He repeated. "Don't you understand what they're doing to you?" He asked pressing his pointer to her temple.

Azula hummed something incoherent in response.

"Exactly what I mean!" He continued with a boast of pride, as if flaunting his smarts to tinny Ling-Ling—well her mother wasn't there for him to flirt with, so Ling was the next best thing. "They know you're too smart, so they're dumbing you down. Softening you up…making you moldable."

"Moldable…moldable." She let the words dance on her tongue. "Moldable." Her brain seemed stuck on the word. "Moldable. Don't swallow the things."

"There ya go, now we're making connections. Putting it all together." HeeKul seemed proud of her.

She smiled this goofy embarrassing smiled, her head lolling awkwardly from side to side.

HeeKul sighed heavily. "She's missing." He informed Ling-Ling.

"Missing?" The boy chirped. He was awfully chipper, Azula noted.

"You best come back tomorrow." His words were once again for Azula.

"Back tomorrow…" She pondered it. "Don't take the things…"

Azula laughed. Everything was funny. She was all woozy and dizzy, the room was spinning. It was fun. So fun. "Back tomorrow. Don't take the things."

She was so far gone.


	3. Chapter 3

She woke with a start. The door slammed against the padded wall.

Azula's head was pounding horrendously. She heaved herself up, the effort staining her abdomen. She was still feeling rather groggy. Super weak and super tired. Between the lack of food and the crushing weight of the straitjacket her stomach was aching. A soft fuzz hummed softly in her ear. The linger of delirium.

Tang-Shin began their morning ritual; stirring a slushy herbal mix. It wasn't like her old medication, but he said…he insisted that the two remedies did the same thing. He withdrew the spoon from the chunky mooch.

Some of the slurry drizzled off the spoon and back into the bowl with a slosh.

Azula cringed, her nose crinkling. She hated eating that stuff, the mushy, slimy texture as she swallowed it down.

A spoonful a morning but it was still awful. But she wanted the voices to fade. She wanted the paranoia to subside.

Shin-Tang moved in closer. He instructed her to open her mouth. She asked if he could remove the straitjacket first. With much hesitation he did. "Now, take your medication." He held the spoon out.

Her mind clicked back to the blur that was the night prior. What was it that HeeKul had told her? Don't take the medication—or something like that, she recalled.

"This would be much easier if you would do as you're told." Tang-Shin pointed out. "You've never had a problem with taking your medications before."

"I don't need them right now. I feel fine." It was the first coherent sentence she had formed in a little over a week. And it wasn't a lie—in way of her mental state she was feeling much better than she had in a while…

Hell-bent on proving her wrong, Ursa lingered in the corner of the room. Tang-Shin didn't need to know that though.

"You are anything but fine. You've been speaking nonsense since you arrived here. Last night, in fact, was one of your worst episodes yet." He lifted the spoon to her lips again. She made no effort to part them.

"If you think I won't pry your lips open and force this down your throat, you're sorely mistaken." Tang-Shin threatened .

She could hear HeeKul screaming at her (be it in the form of her conscience or another auditory hallucination) as she let her lips part slightly. She'd rather eat on her own accord than to be force fed. If she put up a fight his suspicions would rise. One day she'd worm her way out of downing that herbal disaster. Today wasn't that day.

She'd first have to find a way to let him take the slushy medication herself so she could dispose of it without his knowledge. And with that she'd have to think up place to discard it that would go undetected.

This moment offered her no time to mull any of it over. And within minutes the dense fog created by this medication would cloud over her brain once more. Intertwined with her own, now untreated, fragile state of mind, she'd never be able to formulate any plan of use.

She felt the metal of the spoon scrape against her teeth.

The near-liquid substance leaking down her throat. Her gag reflex kicked in as that disgusting, putrid substance leaked downward. It tasted a felt like vomit, mud, and the insects that dwelled within the mud. Azula wouldn't be surprised if that's exactly what this 'medication' was composed of.

Azula knew that her rationality—her connection with reality—was now on its way to slipping from her again. The moments before would be nowhere near enough time to make her plan. Azula felt herself becoming, once again, a susceptible hollow shell. A body without a real mind.

She's soon be stripped of herself. Dulled…moldable—as HeeKul so kindly put it.

She used her last lucid sentence to ask when she'd be getting real food…

Her last fully awake movement to grip her aching middle and look up.

Her last genuinely conscious thought to wonder just how long it had been since she'd had a real meal, or even a meal at all. Probably around the time he started forcing her to eat that slop.

"I suppose, since you've been well behaved." He paused. "Of course I am choosing to ignore your…hesitance a few moments ago."

It was a shame she would be able to enjoy it properly.

Azula got to her a surge of tell-tale dizziness overtaking her. She stumbled, tripping over her feet. The last lucid chunk of her, fuming at the fact Tang-Shin hadn't even put a hand out to stabilize her…much less keep her from hitting the floor.

Again she found herself thanking Agni for the padding.

Though the padding wasn't enough to knock the forming fog away…if anything it quickened its arrival.

Azula's mind and body lost connection again.

The twin nurses heaved her up (their names refused to come to Azula), they had to…her muscles felt like soft wax, like she'd just been chi-blocked. Where was she going again? Tang-Shin seemed to know. So she'd just follow him…not that she had a choice.

Azula had never eaten with her fellow patients before. They were an odd bunch; a bald man seizing in the corner, another with drool dripping down his chin, a woman with rapidly darting blue eyes and anxiously drumming fingers. And on the other side of the room a teen boy babbled to himself next to a girl of the same age group who had taken to rolling around on the floor.

"What are you all doing. Chi block her!" Tang-Shin barked at the male nurses lounging in the corner drinking hot tea and playing Pai Sho. They bickered silently to one another before one of the two got up and landed the girl on the floor with a few quick jabs, grumbling the whole time.

She watched Tang-Shin stride off.

Kirah and Zhu-Ling cuffed Azula to her chair near a group of peoples like her. The ones whose once nearly stable minds were numbed. This group didn't twitch or drool. They were prone to mood swings, obsessive compulsions, delusions, outbursts of violence, or hallucinations.

If Azula were in her right state of mind she would have wondered how many of them were as in control as she—how many of them, like her, didn't truly need to be drugged at that moment.

Azula tried to move her hands to the fork. She didn't understand, why wasn't it working!? She looked down. Oh right, the cuffs. She had forgotten about them, she jerked her hand up and with it re-opened the cuts on her wrist.

She thrashed rapidly against the cuffs, eyes growing wide.

She felt a blow to her head, interrupting her distress.

"Knock it off." It was one of the twins—only one of them was present...when had the other left?

What had she been doing again?

Her arms relaxed. Her body going limp. She felt sleepy…so sleepy. She let her head fall forward. "Where's Zu-Zu?" she found herself mumbling. "Where's Zu-Zu? He needs to help me…" she lost her train of thought. "Zu-Zu was supposed to come and take me home." She was overtaken by a sense of sadness but she couldn't quite figure out what to do with it…how to express it.

Before she could process her options a bowl was placed before her.

Kirah didn't wait for Azula's mind to catch up before shoving a forkful of food into the princess' mouth. The fork jabbed into her tongue, drawing blood. She hadn't even finished chewing when Kirah bought the fork to Azula's mouth again.

She nearly choked. Tears prickled her eyes.

She didn't remember willing them forward.

Azula focused—tried to focus on chewing the food safely.

The vegetables were undercooked and the rice still rather hard. It finally occurred to her that this food was disgusting. She spat it out. Chunks of half chewed food showered the tabled, clung to the corners of her mouth and chin, and littered her uniform.

She began coughing.

Zhu-Ling kicked the chair out from underneath Azula. She fell flat on her face, this time she didn't have that lovely padding. She felt a kick in the ribs.

"You disgusting, filthy…" the woman scowled down at her.

Azula didn't know what was going on. She was like a child, whatever abuse was taking place right now was beyond her comprehension. All she knew through her drugged haze was that she was afraid, someone was hurting her and she didn't know why.

She curled into herself as far as her restraints would allow. Her whole body was quivering. "Zu-Zu…" She finally found means to express that sadness.

Tears.

She started weeping…crying…sobbing.

She was a sticky mess of dirt, grime, food, blood, and tears. Mess being the understatement. Her body mangled and filthy in every sense of the way; disgusting, filthy—that's what Zhu-Ling had called her, and the woman was more than right.

Azula screamed out.

To whom she had no clue.

For what? The pain rippling over her body. The confusion that boggled her mind. The shame, embarrassment, and self-loathing. Even in this state she knew she was a sad and sorry cry for help, that she was completely helpless.

She longed to put her hands to her head, to dig her nails into her scalp in an attempt to be rid herself of the agony in her head.

"Zu-Zu…" she whimpered softly.

Zuko strolled into the institution just as he had done the day before.

"I'm here for my sister."

"With all due respect Firelord, it hasn't been a week yet…hasn't even been two days."

"Consider this; I'm here to, I don't know, visit her. Strange concept, I know." The sarcasm slid into his voice before he could stop it.

Kirah was more than happy to return it. "How about you…consider this; visiting hours are over."

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn't one to throw the 'how dare you treat royalty like this card' but his patience was growing thin. He has had more than enough of this place, he could only imagine how Azula felt. The girl put him through Hell and back but she didn't deserve to deal with this woman…and whatever else she was going through.

"I'm sure you can make an exception for me." Zuko replied.

"No exceptions, your majesty." Kirah put a little hiss on the 'your majesty.'

"Let me speak to Tang-Shin."

"He's a little busy today. You'll have to come back tomorrow. And if you want to see your sister, it'll have to be between 10 and 11:00."

"Of course it will." He muttered, the sundial out front had read something a little past 11 when he had walked past it.

Kirah flashed him a such a phony smile, it made Azula's look real. "Rest assured, she's in good hands."

Azula felt Zhu-Ling slap her once more. Someone was laughing. A bunch of someones, staff and patient alike. No one seemed intent on helping her off of the ground figuratively nor literally.

She was so weak. The small, sane part of Azula ridiculing her for being so pathetic, for letting them do this to her; letting them dope her up and humiliate her like this. For making a savage animal of herself.

That small sane part of her was trying desperately to claw out and clear the fog.

"Really good hands. The best in fact." Kirah repeated, her shitty false smile not meeting her eyes.

Zuko stormed out of the institution. He had to leave, as he wanted nothing more than to punch someone and throw something. And he had no desire to land himself a spot in the very place that evoked such emotions. He'd see her tomorrow. Azula was Azula, she could handle herself.

With her hands cuffed to that chair she had no means to defend herself from the continuing flurry of fists. With every collision of hand and head, that saner Azula was pushed further back. What the hell had she done to earn herself this one? The growing mist kept her from remembering.

He stepped back onto the boat, leaving Sun Dragon island behind…leaving his sister at their mercy.

A sickening crack sent blood spurting from her nose. Her sobs were choked. The woman was shouting at some Azula person. Azula once again struggled to place who that was. And she wouldn't remember, not until the clouds cleared.


	4. Chapter 4

Azula's nose was still throbbing. Throbbing and likely broken.

And it would seem that Tang-Shin had no intentions of providing any real medical care. So she'd have to sit there and suck it up. She was used to bottling feelings up anyways, how hard could it possibly be to ignore a broken nose? The mental agony was usually thrice as painful anyhow.

She lie on the floor in the corner of the room with really nothing to do but think of the pain. It must have been super early in the morning as they hadn't come to give her, her 'medication' yet…

_They hadn't come to give her, her medication!_

That would explain why the pain was much more vivid…her thoughts focused, clear. Azula pushed herself upright scanning the room for anywhere that she may be able to hide that mind numbing concoction. But the room was pretty much useless, there wasn't even a speckle of furniture aside from the bed Zhu-Ling was too lazy to lay her in.

_The bed._

That was it, she'd use the bed.

Of course after putting her plan into action she wouldn't be able to sleep on it anymore, but she'd rather face the cold stone floor than the murk in her mind.

She allowed herself a prideful smile…one that sent her nose stinging again. It was a small victory, but a victory no less. And for the hours to come she'd pretend to sleep. Of course actually sleeping was always an option, but that was always easier said than done.

Now that she was in her right mind she had thoughts.

Too many of them really.

It was like her mind was making up for lost time, for all those hours of living as a heathen shell of her former self.

It was as if all her day to day musings, fears, and insecurities decided to flood in all at once, bombarding every part of her mind. A sort of overload.

When she tried to sleep the questions would form;  _what if I can't bust myself out of here? What if Zuko can't get me out of here? Has he even tried? Was this his plan all along—to play nice and then be rid of me? I was a fool to trust him. I should have done away with him first before he had a chance to land me here…_

And with each question she willed herself to swallow a new lump in her throat. From which emotion the lump was formed Azula couldn't quite place…there were just so many. Her money was on sadness…or was it betrayal?

Azula had though she and Zuko were getting along pretty well. Of course there was a minor dispute every now and again…

Perhaps what seemed minor to her was major to Zuko…and that's why he locked her up in here—so he could watch her wallow around on drugs like some uncivil Neanderthal…watch her embarrass and shame herself… get a little payback for all those minor disputes and whatever bitter feelings lingered from before the comet.

He had betrayed her just like everyone else…like Mai and Ty Lee. They had probably helped him pick the asylum to ship her off to.

The sensation of a thousand flutterbats twisted her belly into knots.

She turned on her side and tried to convince herself that he wouldn't do that. That this was a mistake.  _But if it wasn't wouldn't he have come to visit? Didn't he already come to visit me? What had happened? What had I said?_ She couldn't remember. Even with the fog clear.

She slammed her fist into the floor, fear and sadness giving way to anger. She slammed her fist into the ground again and again until her knuckles bruised—the staff wouldn't notice, they'd assume it was their own doing like the rest of the bruising.

Her bought of anger was put to an abrupt halt by the sound of footsteps.

Azula quickly composed herself, urging her tense muscles to relax as she had done in past situations of fear. She ran through a mental check list; even breathing, passive expression—or in this case 'just woke up' expression, and relaxed posture. She was set to go.

At least until another thought flowed into her head;  _what if they watch me take the medication?_  Her body went rigid again, she hadn't accounted for that. How could she have forgotten!? Her mind must still be a bit dulled.

She forced her body to relax again.

The door to her room was pulled open.

Neither Zhu-Ling nor Kirah stood by Tang-Shin this time. The man had two new faces accompanying him; one male and one female.

"You'll have to forgive me princess." Tang-Shin started. His pseudo courtly manner was really beginning to tear at her nerves. "Zhu-Ling and Kirah…they're taking care of another patient at the moment."

Azula wasn't disappointed to say the least. She wanted nothing more than to pry Zhu-Ling apart bit by bit, but between the cuffs she was still bound in, the drug-induced delirium, and the straitjacket…well the opportunity still hadn't presented itself.

"Sit up princess." Tang-Shin ordered.

Azula was feeling rather defiant that morning.

"Alright. Xang, sit her up for me."

The man to his left, roughly gripped her shoulder and tugged her up— _yup, that would form a bruise too_.

"I understand, you're probably a little sleepy from yesterday…" there was that false politeness again. "But that doesn't mean you get to disobey us. Understand?"

Azula didn't answer. She simply looked up at him with what she hoped came off as a wide-eyed, puzzled stare.

And there it was…the medication. His new female nurse had just finished stirring it. It looked as grimy and noxious as ever. And she was going to have her spoon it down.

One spoonful was all it took to melt her coherence. The second spoonful, enough to turn her into something of a brainless ditz. A third spoonful…they had never upped the dosage that high but if she wasn't careful they'd probably do so for good measure.

Currently her mind was kicked into overdrive trying to think of any last minute ways to get out of taking the medication.

For a split second she thought of faking a total meltdown. The following split second was wasted on realizing that would probably earn her said third spoonful…and a nice cozy straitjacket in her lovely padded room.

Her time for thinking had come to a pass.

She felt the cold metal of the spoon chill her front teeth. Nausea threatening to take her over…they'd been feeding her this stuff every morning and yet the taste was just as offensive as it was on the first day.

Azula heard the clanking of metal on stone as the nurse scooped her up that second spoonful.

And something of a plan B came to her.

She swallowed just a little…just enough to make Tang-Shin believe she had eaten the second dose.

Tears prickled in her eyes, the taste and texture was becoming too much. The battle was no longer she verses the staff, but she verses the bodily instinct to throw up.

"Now then." Tang-Shin gave her what he probably believed was a charming smile. "We'll let the medication settle while I check my other patient. I'll be back, and then the two of us will try out your new treatment plan."

Azula didn't make a sound, didn't dare open her mouth. She gave a submissive nod—anything to get him out of the room faster.

And yet he still seemed to take his time. After what seemed like ages, the man and his 'medical-savvy' clique slammed the door shut.

She waited an extra heartbeat or two before scrambling clumsily over to her bed.

Azula could already feel herself slipping away again, back into that shrouding mist. The smog threatening to rip her plan B out of memory.

It was like going into a room to retrieve an item, but forgetting why you had gone to said room in the first place.

Thank Agni the medicine was still in her mouth to remind her to spit it the hell out!

And she did so, under the bedspread.

It was sick.

It was vial.

It was messy.

But it had to be done.

She sat there plagued by a series of dry, wheezing, self-inflicted coughs. The putrid taste still lingering in her mouth. And outside it a sloppy mess of saliva and chunks of the medication.

She wiped her mouth and chin on the blankets, hastily remade the bed as if nothing had happened, and let herself fall to the floor.

Azula was so tired, body limp and spent. She knew she shouldn't feel so weak…perhaps that was just another wonder of that mud they called medicine.

As she lie on the floor, contemplating what she had just done, there came a little fuzz in the back of her mind. There was another way to expel the rest of the medication…a plan C. But the smoke was too dense for her to see it. It was there, the idea was—bordering on her subconscious just out of reach.

Try as she might, she couldn't get her mind to call it closer. And so she stopped trying, her brain now shifting to focus on the churning in her stomach. It hurt. She felt sick.

She curled herself into a fetal position…no one was there to see it anyways.

Perhaps she should have just downed the whole dose—at least the steam was thick enough then, to numb the sickly feel the first dose provided.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be alright, baby." Her mother smiled.

Azula shivered.

She didn't want to deal with this, not right now.

She moved her hands to cover her ears.  _Oh right the cuffs…_

At least this time she could actually recognize that they were the source of her restraint. Her face flushed red as she recalled not even being able to realize that.

"Don't worry baby, I'm here now." Ursa said softly.

"Where were you before!" Azula slurred.

Ursa didn't answer.

HeeKul used the woman's silence to congratulate Azula on  _almost_  giving Tang-Shin the slip.

Ling-Ling skipped into her field of vision, giving her a once over. "You don't look so good."

"I know." Azula whispered, bunching her legs up even closer to her chest.

Ursa and HeeKul spoke up…and then Ling-Ling…and then many other voices. A whole disorienting chorus. Azula wished she had her real medication. Between that fake crap she spooned down and her own insanity, she felt so dizzy.

So helpless…

She saw the lips moving, but they refused to put out any sound. Azula squeezed her eyes shut and tried to focus. With the extra effort the voice cut through the fog. It was Tang-Shin again. "Come on we don't have time to waste, there are other patients waiting." He yanked her to her feet.

The woozy sensation had her plummeting right back down, her knees colliding painfully with the floor.

"Did you hear me?" He slapped her across the cheek.

Her head snapped back.

If he was hoping that his slap would ease the lightheadedness, it clearly didn't work. Azula, in fact, felt twice as tipsy as moments before.

Tang-Shin tugged her to her feet once again. This time actually having the decency to provide her some support.

Feeling as physically weak and susceptible to persuasions as ever, she made no protest as he led her out the door.

"Today is a very special day for you Azula." That malice riddled smirk spread over his face. "I know you can't remember what I had said earlier…"

Azula almost laughed. Because she did…she remembered what he had told her. She decided not to laugh because she wasn't enthusiastic about whatever 'new treatment' was in store.

The man chuckled at something he had said to himself. Azula hadn't been paying attention, but she didn't have to, to know that his joke wasn't funny.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy this new treatment."


	5. Chapter 5

ang-Shin was leading her down a hall that was just as bleak as every other. She wondered how the man navigated the place—everything looked the same to her; white or yellowing-white, lined with tightly sealed doors, and a floor that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in millenniums. She chose to ignore the alarming red splotch near one of the doors.

Was that what she had been sleeping on?

She shuddered.

They reached the end of the hall where stood a giant knobless door.

Tang-Shin offered the man guarding the door a strange signal.

Azula found it odd. Who would choose to guard a heavy metal door that didn't even have a knob. Perhaps it was a push door and didn't need one. As she pondered that one over, the guard put himself a few good feet away from the door. He proceeded to drag it open.

It was in fact a pull door.

The man a metalbender.

The dots only half connected themselves in Azula's dimmed mind.

At least something connected…

Once both Tang-Shin and Azula had passed through, the door slammed shut again. There was no escaping whatever lie ahead. He ushered her through the pitch dark. As if walking in the light wasn't hard enough. Azula found herself stumbling over her own feet and no sooner tripping to the floor.

Tang-Shin grumbled a string of cusses. He gave her ribs a considerable kick. "Get up, girl." Apparently he thought her to be so far into a state of delirium that he decided to drop his little refined façade. "Clumsy little brat, you are." He muttered to himself.

She was in the middle of setting herself upright—which wasn't working out—when she felt Tang-Shin's hand invade her hair. He gripped a nice handful of it and pulled. Azula was back on her feet, but her scalp itched with newfound pain.

This time he held her closer…more firmly. They continued walking at what seemed like a downward incline. The pair came out of the complete darkness and into a hall (identical to the others) with a few drops of torchlight every few feet.

They came to another hall's end. Though this time it broke off in two directions. Azula was provided a moment's glance at a very familiar door, before Tang-Shin shoved her around a corner to the left. She twisted her head back to stare puzzle over the door longer; she could have sworn she saw Kirah and Zhu-Ling enter.

The door was now out of sight.

He stopped at a small room.

Azula shifted uncomfortably next to him as he fumbled with a large ring of keys.

Two rugged looking men were already lingering near the back of the room. Both were intimidating figures, one barring a jagged scar across his bicep. In her prim Azula could have taken both down in a heartbeat.

Instead she found herself being manhandled by them. The one without the scar threw her down on some sort of tattered, dirt-ridden gurney.

"Now…" Tang-Shin began. "It has become clear to me that your medication isn't working…"

A wave of rage washed over Azula. The need to scream that, that was his doing, all too tempting. But she kept her mouth shut.

"Because of this I have decided to try something new with you. And I do believe this treatment is most befitting." Tang-Shin continued.

The men discarded her cuffs and secured her to the gurney—one strap over her chest, one over her middle, and a third halfway down her legs. She couldn't budge. Of course Tang-Shin didn't seem satisfied. He instructed them to place another strap over her head so she couldn't move that either.

Ursa, HeeKul, Ling-Ling, and a new presence—the woman with the stitches—were all lined up to see what Azula was in for.

"I will be on the other side of the room making sure everything goes as it is supposed to."

Azula's entire body tensed with unspoken fear as the scarred man came near.

The man dropped into a bending stance—working through a technique that was all too familiar to Azula.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

Karma is a lovely little bitch.

It could be, that she deserved what was coming.

It was as if her entire brain had exploded. A bright cracking light splintered through her head, bringing with it an agonizing white-hot sensation—searing and burning all that its sparky fingers could touch. Azula's body convulsed and twitched. Her back arched in a full on shriek, one that hurt her own head.

And then came a sublime dark.

She welcomed it with grateful arms.

For a while the world came to a stop, everything was peaceful. Calm. For the briefest second she wondered if she should allow this darkness to last forever…if she should just end her bleak existence and trade it in for this kind of nirvana.

After the notion had passed…all other thoughts had come to a momentary cease.

As soon as the unscarred man unstrapped the girl, her sleeping form fell into a violent series of shakes. Head knocking against the floor, limbs jerking rapidly. Tang-Shin yawned. He'd seen a few of his patients react like so to this treatment, it was nothing new.

And he had no plans of tweaking this procedure to accommodate the princess' needs.

She woke up dazed, confused, and on the floor. Tang-Shin was looming in the corner, waiting for her to come around. When she made no effort to upright herself he strolled over and hovered above her. "Welcome back."

Azula could only offer him a pained groan.

"We will do this again and again each week, until you can get this…" He jabbed a finger to her head—specifically on the burn mark left by the lightning "…in check."

I'm doing just fine. The thought went unvocalized, as most did. She lie there breathing heavily. Her head was getting all groggy again. What few thoughts she had, jumbled and messy. It wasn't as bad as a second spoonful of that medication, but this new procedure was still perplexing.

Tang-Shin offered her no recovery time before hulling her up again. Just like in the pitch darkness, she came crashing down again.

"We have a problem Tang." It was Zhu-Ling…or was it Kirah… "Haruki is giving us a hassle again."

Tang-Shin growled to himself. He spared Azula a glance—deciding that, that crumpled heap of a girl wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, he sauntered out the door—his rugged cronies not far behind.

He was terribly mistaken. With the right motivation, Azula could drag herself anywhere. And if they caught her she'd play it off like she had drunkly wandered there—half doped up on meds, it wasn't a total lie.

She wasn't all that fast and her stride resembled something akin to a man on cactus juice, but she found her way to that door anyways.

Absent mindedly putting her entire bodyweight onto the door, she fell into the room.

The girl still lie on the operating table, looking worse than before. Her eyes remained unstitched, missing their lids. Her mouth was a different story; through the stitches the girl seemed to be frothing like a rabid rabbitsquirrel.

Something resembling a tumor protruded from her hip and from the top right of her head.

Azula grew nauseous again.

"Clearly we do indeed need another shock session." Tang-Shin observed. "Pray tell, exactly how vivid are these hallucinations of yours?"

Zhu-Ling and the two cronies snickered as they brushed past.

It was time to release a nice string of psychobabble. "Shock session. Hallucinations. Shock rhymes with rock." Her voice came out sounding very distant. "I knew an earthbender who could bend water. The flames he bended were golden. I used to have a golden crown. It was shiny. Shiny, shiny golden crown." She let her head rock from side to side for good measure.

The look of disgust on Tang-Shin's face assured her that her plan had worked.

The two simply stared at one another for a good two minutes, Azula taking special care to make eyes look loopy and not quite in the moment.

She broke their eye contact to chance another look at the woman on the operating table.

She was no longer there.

The next slur of enraged screaming was nothing but a genuine break. "WHERE IS SHE! WHERE DID YOU PUT HER, SHE WAS HERE JUST A MINUTE AGO. SHE WAS HERE. SHE WAS HERE. SHE WAS HERE!"

"There was no one in this room I assure you."

Azula hadn't intended to do it. Once again, her body seemed to be lengths ahead of her mind.

Tang-Shin recoiled, his hand rubbing at the corner of his mouth. His expression filled with nothing but pure untainted hatred. How dare the wretched girl slug him in the face. How dare she!? He ran his finger over the throbbing area. It would seem that she had burned him too.

Azula could practically see the red in his eyes.

His fist came down on her head. And then again to her stomach—she toppled, voided of air. Deciding against blowing her cover any further, her arms were her only defense against his barrage of kicks.

Zuko hustled to the front door. It was 10:00 exactly.

"I'm here to visit my sister." He glared at Kirah. "But I think you already know that."

"I am well aware." Kirah replied. "However you are not permitted to see her. Aside from the fact that she had punched Tang-Shin only an hour ago, visiting hours are from 11 to 12."

Zuko grabbed the woman by the cuff of her uniform. "Yesterday the visiting hours were 10 to 11."

"Yes. Yesterday." The woman seemed unfazed.

He released her. "Alright. That's okay, I can wait." He folded his arms over his chest.

"I wouldn't." Kirah shrugged. "There is a strong possibility that visiting hours will be delayed due to the multitude of mishaps that occurred this morning."

Zuko took a seat and picked up a bundle of scrolls. "I can wait."

Kirah scowled. "They might even be cancelled."

Zuko threw the scrolls to the ground. His patience wound way past thin. "You see this!?" He pointed to his crown. "I am your Firelord. When I want something I get it. And I get it right away." His teeth clenched. "Now, let me see my sister."

"Oh, but Zuko." Tang-Shin stepped in. "This is Sun Dragon Island. It has its own king." He paused. "You see, our asylum is under his jurisdiction, and we are not authorized to release patients and…or allow you to see them on a whim without permission from said king. If you have a problem with how we run things, you shall take your complaints to him."

"Its own king!? Since when does Sun Dragon Island have its own rule?"

"Since we decided to secede from the Fire Nation…we were fond of Ozai's rule, not your sister's, and certainly yours."


	6. Chapter 6

No sooner had he thrown the first fire ball was he tossed to the dirt outside. They had him hugely outnumbered, he couldn't have possibly won. At least that's the excuse he made for himself. Truth be told, the days attending political meetings and signing peace treaties had him pretty out of shape where bending was concerned. It didn't help that there was a chi blocker in the equation.

And so he found himself laying there face down on the ground—unable to pick himself up.

His nose crinkled up as a cricketspider tiptoed its way through the grass. If he could flinch he certainly would. Cricketspiders were pretty harmless creatures but Zuko still hated the lot of them—which had something to do with the fact that Azula used to put them in his soup when they were children.

A ripple of fury dashed through him. That's how it was supposed to be; Azula in the palace making a nuisance of herself, doing everything in her power to live up to the 'annoying little sister' standard.

He logged to give the ground a few undeserved punches.

The cricketspider found Zuko's cheek. He managed a slight twitch. A small tear threatening to escape his eye—he hated spiders; cricketspiders, hornetspiders, mothspiders, all of them! Azula would have loved to see him squirming around down here as the creepy thing crawled over his ear.

He let out a furious cry.

Mai rolled her eyes. "This is a new low even for you Zuko. That cricketspider is dominating you."

"Not now Mai." He growled.

"I take it the visit didn't go well?"

"The visit didn't have a chance to go bad. They wouldn't let me see her. Again. Second time." He spat.

Before Mai could offer him a snappy quip he resumed his little rant. "Visiting hours are from 11 to 12. Except not today because there's been too many mishaps." He mocked.

"Well that doesn't explain why you're…becoming one with the grass."

"I got mad, I threw some fire, and Tang-Shin sent his entire inventory of lackeys to tackle me down. One of them was a chi blocker and…"

"Alright, I get it, things didn't go your way." Mai yawned.

"No, you don't understand. Aside from not being able to help Azula…they told me this island has its own king. I didn't tell them they could elect their own king. I didn't give them permission to live under a different ruler…and yet here they are doing whatever they all damn well please! They said they wanted Ozai's reign… I don't even know when this happened."

"Alright, slow down." Mai frowned. "How about, instead of taking their word for it, you go visit this…king and see what's going on, perhaps this is just a misunderstanding—we haven't really had contact with this island in how long now? Between the comet and everything else, these guys have kind of been under the radar."

"Or I can see this king, get Azula out of here, and forget about this place." He slapped his hand against his head. "Agni, I can't believe I let this go unnoticed."

Mai helped Zuko to his feet, propping him over her shoulder. "You can't just forget about it Zuko, if what they're saying is true…we have a pretty big problem. It looks like they want to overthrow you."

"They aren't in any position to attack us. I'm not worried. But what I want to know is why keep Azula? What's she got to do with this?"

"She's Azula. She's dangerous?" Mai figured. She half carried half dragged him to the carriage, muttering half genuine apologies the whole way there.

As the carriage drew forward he could feel the strength returning to his body—at least the island's king's first impression of him wouldn't be tainted by a vision of Mai carrying him like a small child. The Sun Dragon palace was now just in view.

"We'll wait out here for a bit until I can walk myself." Zuko decided.

"Shall I tell the king you wish to see him?" Mai asked.

"That'd be great." He watched her stride up the palace steps, the guards didn't seem to offer her any hassle.

By the time she appeared back at the carriage, Zuko's legs were functioning to their fullest again. And to their fullest he worked them with heavy stomps, each foot fall containing a new wave of anger.

"Alright Zuko, let's not make a scene." Mai suggested. "Can you please try to walk like the civil Firelord I know you are?"

Zuko took a deep breath and climbed the rest of the way without any visible malice.

"Welcome Firelord Zuko, to Sun Dragon palace." The man—dressed in gold adorned finery, gave his long, well-groomed beard a stroke.

"I assume you're the king."

"I prefer Emperor, one day my subjects will get that through their heads." He chuckled. "My name is Akuzan…Emperor Akuzan." He extended his arm.

Zuko took it and gave him a firm handshake.

"What can I do for you?"

"I sent my sister to one of your asylums. I would like to see her release, but your…subjects seem to disagree. I also should like to bring to your attention…that…" his mind was drawing a blank. He was still getting used to this whole formal speaking thing. "…That your facility isn't treating its patients the best. I have reason to believe that they have been…mistreating my sister."

Akuzan gave his beard a thoughtful stroke. "My sincerest apologies Firelord. I fear that there may be some bitter feelings in regards to our secession. But I am a fair Emperor. Or so I'd like to think. I won't persecute my subjects without reason. So, if you can bring me a little something of proof, I will see what I can do."

Zuko held his tongue until he stood out of earshot. "Proof? Why should I need to get him proof? All he has to do is get off his royal ass and visit the institution. You only have to set a toe in to realize that place is shady as…"

"Clearly that's not true, you left her there…"

Zuko's anger reached a boiling point. "Yeah, I left her there! And on the very first night I told you something felt wrong! But I let you convince me that it was okay…that it was normal to feel like that!" His yells drew a few looks from passerbys.

Mai put her hands up. "You're right. I admit it, it was my fault too."

"Furthermore I can just wipe this island off the maps…" He began an agitated pace back and forth. "But if I do that how much better am I than my father?"

Mai stood by silently taking in his confliction.

Zuko sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I just…let's just figure out how to get that proof. See if we can settle this without conflict."

He stood in silence for a minute. "I think I've got a little something. We'll need Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph. You won't be able to come along because they've already seen your face."

A sunrise later in the institution Azula was spinning a plan of her own. This time she wouldn't down any of the medication. She owed herself that after letting them use her own favored attack against her. With the smog completely ventilated from her head, that much needed plan C had come to surface.

In the dark she waited for them to stride down the hall.

She was ready for them.

And yet…deep down, seated itself a new dread; even if this plan C was a success, where would she go from there? How long could she play dumb before they figured out she wasn't truly drugged up? Moreover, how would she get off this island once escaped…she hadn't any currency to pay with. She answered herself; stupid question, I'd stowaway.

Her thinking time was interrupted by the screech of the door.

It mattered not—if all went according to plan—she'd have all the thinking time in the world.

The hand that force fed her was quick and to the point this time. She didn't even have to endure Tang-Shin's tiresome drawls…she for a blink, didn't even think he was in the room until she got a glimpse of his slender body slumped against the doorframe.

Despite the quickness at which the spoon was crammed into her mouth, the mush went down as slowly as ever, leaving behind a familiar rancid, rotten after taste.

"What's the rush?" She found it in her to question, cracking him her trademark smirk.

"In minutes that won't concern you." He waved the question off.

He thought himself to be as clever as she. Azula was not able to suppress her small snicker. Zhu-Ling used it as an opportunity to thrust the spoon into her mouth again. This surely cut Azula's taunting laughter off.

She didn't have time to stop all of the medication from sliding down her throat.

It didn't matter.

She found herself choking once again over both the taste and the abruptness at which the medication was fed to her. Tang-Shin seemed satisfied. "I'll be back for you momentarily."

Azula, figuring that everything she'd done in this asylum thus far was classless and trashy, flipped him the bird as he made his exit.

"Keep it up and I'll slam this door shut on your finger." He threatened before slamming the door.

After he left, the sense of dread set in. She really didn't want to put plan C into action. But she had no choice. She let her finger slip into her mouth, triggering that all too known gag reflex, she pushed a little further. That had done the trick.

Head bent over the bed, back tense and arched, the medication—alongside what little food she had in her body—spilled onto the bedspread. She thought she was done when another jab of nausea struck. Gripping the bedframe with more force than needed she found herself doubling over again—stomach muscles clenching as it emptied itself.

When the sickly sensation didn't return she let herself fall to the ground gasping for air. Each breath providing something of a sting. For lack of food she had probably thrown up stomach acid, it had burned up the entirety of her throat and then some.

She blew out a prolonged breath, at the remembrance that this was going to be a daily occurrence.

She felt so dirty. So disgusting.

She didn't know how the hell those girls in the room over could do this on their own accord.

Azula heard their footsteps growing closer to (what she came to call) her cell. With a muffled cuss or two she hastily put the bed back in order and fell back to the floor some feet away from the bed. A princess shouldn't have to deal with this.

Zhu-Ling and Kirah were the only ones who stood in the doorway.

"Tang-Shi is in a meeting right now." Kirah explained.

"So you will be having lunch early today." Zhu-Ling added as she locked the handcuffs around Azula's wrists. She neglected to do the same with her ankles…now wasn't the right time to attack. Not yet…

The twins ushered her down the hall.

"Perhaps I should have just let the Firelord see the bitch."

Zhu-Ling's eyes flashed with fear. Kirah, in response, tugged Azula along faster. Clearly the conversation wasn't meant for her ears. She fought the urge to kick the door in and show Tang-Shin who the real bitch was.

"Perhaps you should have. But it's too late now. We'll just have to make back up plans. Prepare to contact the…" His voice faded out of hearing range. His voice was a new one; Azula couldn't place it for the life of her.

The room fell into a thick quiet when Azula arrived. Clearly they remembered the spectacle Zhu-Ling had made of her. She shot a snarl in the direction of one of her fellow patients that had laughed at her the hardest when Zhu-Ling threw her to the floor.

The man seemed to fold in on himself under Azula's disdainful glare.

Zhu-Ling pushed her down into the chair. "Try not to make a mess of yourself this time."

Now free from her glare, the man worked up the nerve to giggle at Zhu-Lings remark.

Azula offered no reply other than her fake innocent, wide-eyed, stare. She let her head dip over until her stale meal was placed before her. Zhu-Ling was again tasked with feeding her. And she took on this task with just as little skill as the first time.

She wasn't careful and didn't wait for Azula to finish her first bite before forcing her to take the next. And she wondered why Azula had to spit it out last time. The nurse offered Azula nothing but a cruel little smile—one that Azula was more than ready to singe off.

But she to resist, so she moved her eyes to Kirah instead, focusing on simply swallowing the food down without choking or 'making a mess of herself.'

Just like the first time, Zhu-Ling had managed to jab Azula's cheek with the fork bringing forth a coppery taste. The fork came out spotted faintly with blood. Something flashed in Kirah's eyes, she shifted positions.

All the while Zhu-Ling carried on with her task. Apparently the nurse's attention wandered somewhere else as she didn't even wait for Azula to start chewing before forcing more food in.

Azula found herself at a loss for air, her hands impulsively reaching for her throat. Zhu-Ling could seem to care less.

For the second time that day, Azula's lungs were on fire, throat burning and suffering. She couldn't save herself either, not with the cuffs.

Who knew she'd have to blow her cover so soon.

Before she could tear her own plan to shreds, Kirah lunged for her, landing a series of blows to her stomach. Azula dropped to the floor gasping for air…

Gasping for air!

She could breath.

"Agni's sake Zhu, you're gonna kill her." Kirah sputtered.

Zhu-Ling rolled her eyes. "You want to feed her…go ahead." She thrust the fork at Kirah.

She wasn't as rough as her sister. She actually waited for Azula to finish chewing before giving her the next bite.

"I'm going to see if Tang is ready for her…getting tired of dealing with her. She's sloppy, she's a handful, I can't wait to see her out of my care."

Kirah nodded.

"I don't want you dead you know?" Kirah asked when her sister had left. "If you don't want any more food, just say so."

Azula said nothing. Kirah took this as a signal to continue.

"Honestly, I don't want to hurt you."

"Then why do you?" The question slipped out before she could stop it. "It sure seems like you're having a grand time."

"I have to play my part just as you do." She replied, gently dabbing the corner of Azula's mouth with a napkin. "And should say I do it well." She paused and put the fork down. "I got on his bad side…"

Her entire demeanor changed when she caught Tang-Shin's eye. Her voice dropped to something a little above a whisper. "Your brother's been trying to get you out of here. I had to see him out, please understand that if I didn't I would have been punished severely."

Tang-Shin and Zhu-Ling were moving in closer.

"What about your sister?"

"As loyal to Tang-Shin as the other staff." she glanced up. "I can't help you much, not while they're around but I can…perhaps drop a hint or two to your brother…" Kirah looked once more at the approaching duo. "I have in image to uphold. My apologies." She shoved Azula to the floor claiming that she had bitten her.

Azula's mind was again spinning. This newfound sympathy and kindness was more confusing than the medication. Could and should she trust these words? If Kirah was so innocent why had she mentioned this before? It was then that Azula realized she never really did have a one on one time with the girl, as she had with her sister.

Kirah was the key, she decided.

If Zhu-Ling didn't kill Azula first, Kirah would be the one to help get her out of here.

"I suggest you go back behind the front desk, Kirah. I don't recall telling you to stay with the princess."

"Zhu-Ling left, I thought I should…"

"You don't think Kirah, thoughts are dangerous. You hear orders, you listen to them, you don't stray from them. Back to the front desk, I'm sure a certain someone is already there waiting for you. Probably isn't too happy about yesterday." Tang-Shin replied coolly.

"I'll see to the front desk." She nodded, sparing Azula one last look before taking off.

"Zhu-Ling, go check on Hiru." Tang-Shin ordered. "As for you…you really are giving me more trouble than you are worth; biting people…" he motioned to his swollen lip "…punching people, wandering off when I tell you to stay put." He cupped her chin and forced her to look up at him. "I'm beginning to think we might have to up your dosage." He let her head hang once more.

Azula fixed him with a blank stare, rocking herself side to side as if her mind were elsewhere…part of her wished it was.

"But for now, I think something more…appropriate is in order." He yanked her to her feet by her hair. "I know you're in there, beneath that medication, and I will snub you out."

"Have you no nonsensical words for me today?"

Azula continued rocking herself. First to the right and then to the left.

Without another word her took her wrist and led her down the hall and down another. And into a pitch black tunnel with a downward incline.

And she'd let him do it. She wanted…

No, she needed, to see (with lucid eyes) what lie within that big metal door.


	7. Chapter 7

Zuko found himself locked in another stare off with Kirah. The girl seemed ready to cave. They hadn't spoken to each other in at least ten minutes. I

"What's your excuse this time?" Zuko asked. "Visiting hours change again?"

"No. She's…Tang-Shin took her to get some sort of new therapy…she should be out soon. After he's done, I'll check with him and see what I can do." Kirah replied.

"Oh, so you're going to play nice now?"

"Am I playing nice now or was I playing mean before?" She asked before pretending to fill out some paperwork.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Even if Kirah intended on giving him an answer, a certain clamor coming from just outside offered an interruption. The door swung open—kicked in with such a violent force the glass of water on Kirah's desk rippled and vibrated.

Toph gave a wild shriek before bringing her fist into the wall leaving a decent sized crater on it's already tainted surface. With another yell, a table sailed across the room. All the while Sokka and Katara struggled to keep the earthbender at bay.

Kirah sent for a team of nurses claiming "we have a new one, and she's gonna put up a fight."

And fight she did; she picked up a chair and flung it at one of the nurses before breaking out of Katara and Sokka's grasp and then taking off into a mad dash out the door. "I'm not going in there!" She bellowed. "You can't imprison the melon lord, I'll sentence you all to a citrusy hell…you hear me! A citrusy hell where the only fruits you eat are the ones so sour they bring tears to your eyes!"

"She's delusional." One of the male nurses barked.

"Citrus hell!" Toph vowed. "CITRUS HELL!"

By which time the Water Tribe siblings and what seemed to be the entirety of the asylum's staff were flooding out the door after her.

They took the bait. Zuko dashed behind the front desk quickly rummaging through each and every drawer for anything that could serve as proof of what was going down in the asylum. He came to the last drawer and yanked it open. The set of scrolls within seemed promising enough.

He quickly tucked them beneath his robes.

"Can I help you?"

"Kirah…I thought you were…"

"I'm Zhu-Ling." She muttered. "What are you doing lingering around the front desk?"

"Waiting for your sister to finish dealing with a potential new patient." Zuko lied. "However, I think I'm going to see myself out. This is just a waste of time, she won't let me see Azula anyhow."

"Good choice…Firelord." Zhu-Ling spat.

Zuko trotted out with more speed than needed. Aang was parked with Appa just outside the doors.

"The other three get away just fine?" Zuko asked.

"Looked like it." Aang answered. "You get what you needed?"

"I think so." Zuko withdrew one of the scrolls.

"What are you going to do if the emperor doesn't cooperate?" Aang asked.

"I'm not sure." Zuko scratched his head. "I guess I'll start by taking this island back. If he gives me my sister I'll let him keep it, I don't really need it anyways…but…"

Aang prompted him to continue.

"Mai seems to think that just letting the island go would make the Fire Nation look weak."

It was Aang's turn to scratch his head. "Well, I think it makes you look like a humble Nation…a merciful one. And that's not a bad thing."

"People…other nations take advantage of merciful nations."

Aang was quite for a moment. "How about we worry about Azula right now and just take things as they come?"

Zuko tousled his hair… "You know I'm not a patient person."

When the silence fell to heavy Zuko started looking over the scrolls. The first file he drew out was titled Eesouk ShiTong. "Eesouk, age: 23, sex: male…Eesouk…Eesouk…" Zuko murmured. He heard the name before. "Eesouk. Eesouk! He's a real person!"

"Well…that's kind of. You know, obvious." Aang rubbed the back of his head.

"No. No, when I first got here there was this woman screaming about an Eesouk. Tang-Shin told me that Eesouk was just a voice in her head…"

"What was this person screaming about another patient for?" Aang asked.

"She said." Zuko's stomach seemed to go hollow. "She said they killed him." His expression went dark.

"Why would they do that?" A puzzled look settled over Aang's features.

"I don't know, but we have to get this to the emperor right away." Zuko decided scanning the scroll again. His brows furrowed as he read over the next bit. "Experiment No.008." His finger brushed over a grim red stamp;  **Failed**.

He hadn't realized the knot in his throat until he swallowed it down. "They're doing experiments on their patients?"

"What kinds." Aang was beginning to look just as uneasy as Zuko felt.

"Doesn't say." Zuko's lips pressed into a thin line. "All it says is that the experiment failed…which probably means dead…no, it definitely means dead."

Zuko turned over the next scroll, his eyes settled on the neatly inked name; Azula. A bead of nervous sweat trickled down his temple.

"Patient no.272." He read aloud, he skimmed over her biological information. "Patient hears voices and sees beings that are not there…has a habit of wandering off when told to stay put. Displays an uncanny need for physical altercations with staff and briefly refused to take her medications." His hands were shaking. He flipped scroll over onto its other side. "Experiment: N/A – patient is not to be transferred to the experimental ward." Zuko hadn't felt such a sense of relief since making amends with his uncle.

"It's going to be hard for the emperor to see that and not shut the place down." Aang pointed out.

Zuko didn't mean to ignore the Avatar, but his focus was too narrowed in on the scrolls. "Hiru Hwuan. Age: 18 sex: female. Experiment No.009."

Azula dropped to her knees. The crackling in her head unwilling to subside. She looked up, Tang-Shin nor his partners seemed to be looking at her. So she willed as much of the lightning out of her head as she could.

Her skills in that department still weren't in top shape—Zuko had only been working on lighting redirection with her for maybe a week prior to getting sent off to this Agniforsaken place.

She was able to bring herself little relief.

The men seemed preoccupied. Azula's mind was made up, she'd chance another trip to her mysterious room. There probably wasn't going to be another opening, and she sure as hell didn't let them zap her ass for nothing.

Unlike lightning redirection, stealth was one of Azula's specialties. Head still blazing, she slipped out the door and down the hall. This time making no hesitations about opening the door.

The woman was back on the gurney, looking as morbid as ever—though this time she didn't look any worse.

Azula blinked twice. She was cogent, intelligible. Her mind had been clear of hallucinations for a good while. The woman had to be real, the confirmation Azula sought…realized. They…Tang-Shin's partners must have moved the woman when she was talking to him.

It took a moment longer than it should have for Azula to register that the reality of this woman's existence was infinitely more grim than her just being a spectacle of her broken mind.

Azula shifted uneasily. The rustle of her asylum garment as she switch positions was noise enough to cause the girl to turn her way.

A hand, bloodied and swollen beyond imagination, snaked out and took hold of the hem of Azula's uniform.

Reflexively the firebender leapt back, biting back a startled cry.

"Help…me." The woman's voice was a weak and breathy whisper. Hoarse and agonized. "Help…us." Her arm flopped back down, dangling limply over the operating table.

"So wonderful to see you have met Hiru," came a voice from in the doorway. "She was getting lonely.

A chill shot down Azula's spine.

Some miles away, Zuko threw the door to Sun Dragon palace open with quite some more force than need be.

"Do you have an appointment with Emperor Aku…"

Zuko shoved past the man with a muffled, "urgent business." He stormed up to the throne, Aang only a few feet behind. He practically shoved the offending papers in Akuzan's face. "Here you go! Here's your proof!"

The emperor's face twisted into a scowl. He let out a long sigh. "I had a feeling you'd make this difficult…" He tsked. "You weren't supposed to find those."

It was Zuko's turn to make a scrunchy face. "Are you implying you knew about this the whole time!?" He went mute for a beat. "You didn't just know about this. You're the one who put the order through."

The emporer laced his fingers together holding them at chin level, arms resting up on their designated armrests. He took a deep breath, pondering his next words. He exhaled. "Firelord Zuko, you are an…intelligent man. If you had an idea that could change the world…that could put you at its very top, would you act upon that idea?"

"If it means using humans as lab gatorrats, no."

"Think of them not as gatorrats, but as vessels of power. If the experiment succeeds…which it has on occasions, they have a certain power. They'll help Sun Dragon island flourish."

"So they're human weapons? And you're going to use them to take me down and put Ozai back in power?"

Akuzan gnawed at the inside of his cheek.

"What do you think will happen when your people find out about this?" Zuko pressed on. "I don't even need to dispatch my military, your own people will…"

"Stand by my side." Akuzan interrupted. "Do you want to know how all of this went under the radar?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Anyone who showed even a speckle of disloyalty, a hint of spreading our secrets…"

"Was locked in that asylum?" Zuko guessed.

"Of course not. That would be too risky. No, anyone who could remain loyal to my rule and the practices of Ozai, they were executed. For treason of course."

Zuko glanced over at Aang. "My army is sizes bigger than yours, you're in no position to refuse my requests."

"Is that right?" The emperor's lack of concern had Zuko on edge. "Not only have I made an alliance with some of the Earth Kingdoms…the one still fuming over the wrongs your Nation committed against them, but..."

Zuko's cut in, face scrunching again. "Th…that makes no sense." He sputtered. "You're supporting the man they hate."

"With a few carefully placed words, a pocket of lies, and a bit of deceit you can earn yourself any ally." Akuzan pointed out.

Zuko could feel the fire blazing over his fists.

"Put those away Firelord Zuko, it is you who is in no position to refuse. If you fail to free Ozai and return power to myself and he, then I personally, will see to it that your sister dies." He chuckled. "See I knew the day would come when I would need to get you out of my way, your sister is my leverage." He let it sink in. "As I said yesterday, I like to think myself fair…you have two days to decide. If I see any Fire Nation ships in my harbor I will kill your sister, any solider—same concept. Any act of defiance and your sister takes the fall. And after that I will show your army what my 'human weapons' can do." He leered. "And believe me, even if I fall, my weapon will keep destroying…vengeance in my name."

Zuko's mind was racing. Would it be the life of one person or the many lives of his people. His sister, or the good of the Fire Nation.

"I take it this didn't go well either." Mai guessed.

His look of melancholy put hers to shame as he unraveled each detail of the situation.

And yet Mai always seemed to be more grim than all else. She didn't hesitate, didn't even bat an eye when saying, "let her die." She let a hush hang before adding, "Azula would proudly give herself up for the Fire Nation. She was a lot of things…horrible things. But she had one thing, and that was her loyalty."

But it wouldn't be that simple. A boat ride away Tang-Shin decided to take matters into his own hands.

"I see you've taken quite a shine to this room." The doctor observed. "Perhaps you'd like us to move your room down here?"

Azula gave him the dopiest look she could muster.

The doctor sniggered. "I've had my suspicions about you. You're too clever. You know too much. Very skilled, can play a lot of roles." He paused. "Dumb isn't one of them. You can't seem to do it."

Azula snarled.

"It's a shame, really it is. You were only supposed to be a bargaining chip." Tang-Shin circled around her. "But I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to pick you apart."


	8. Chapter 8

"You see, Princess, I don't like your kind." Tang-Shin continued with his circling. "You. People  _like_  you, are sick. The lot of you deserve to die. The lot of you are only good for experimenting on. And of the lunatics in this asylum your breed is the worst—with your silly voices and your ludicrous visions…"

Azula's upper lip twitched into a snarl. The man was speaking as if he didn't have an issue or two of his own.

"If you thought we treated you with neglect and abuse in the regular ward…the underground ward, well it's a whole new world of torment."

Azula looked to the woman…Hiru on the operating table. And then she turned her gaze back to Tang-Shin who still up held that smug little smile as if he didn't think she'd melt it off. With one fluid arm thrust she socked the man in the mouth, with a wave of blue flames.

He stumbled back into that same rack of tools Azula had the first time she'd seen the room. However he fell into it wish such a force it came crashing down on him. Hard metal on soft skin.

Hard metal.

Azula offered Tang-Shin a smirk that put his own to shame.

Even with blurred vision he could see the sparks dancing at her fingertips, hear it's crackle as she moved though each of the bending techniques with a grace that didn't exactly match her dirty and marred appearance.

It was a merciless move filled with such hate and malice—electrifying and setting fire to Tang-Shin's every nerve. And the girl…that twisted, spoiled little girl was enjoying every moment of it. She was laughing at him—a charming and alluring laugh that Tang-Shin found most unbefitting to her.

Azula wasn't one to laugh sling petty insults as she struck her enemies down—she much preferred to take them down with hushed, deadly precision, only speaking to let them know that they had lost. But Tang-Shin was a different story, this institution a realm of its own.

And within it, a very different Azula.

She never enjoyed attacking a man as much as she did Tang-Shin. The man was vial—her eyes wandered for a moment back to Hiru—and he deserved only the slowest execution.

When the lightning faded out of his body, Azula bore down on him with a ferocity unknown even to her. Her mind had slipped again, she knew it. She knew it from the moment she uncharacteristically discarded firebending for rapid fire punches and slaps—all of which targeted at his face.

Zhu-Ling would be next. Even if she couldn't take the little wench down, she'd at least land her a blow hard enough to show her what a broken nose…no a shattered nose was like.

After a certain point Azula couldn't find a face beneath the blood.

And yet she still wasn't satisfied.

Igniting a blue flame once more she bought her hand up…only to have it caught by another.

She mentally cursed herself for letting her mind fall away again; for getting so sloppy and unaware of her surroundings. Alongside the cursing was a mental vow;  _don't you dare slip again_.

Clearly it was her lucky day. The one who had taken to gripping Azula's wrist was Zhu-Ling. Okay…she'd let her temper slip one more time—well, sort of.

Her fist contacted the nurse's nose, sending a bloodcurdling crack rebounding around the room. With a tiny sapphire colored flame curling over her finger, she went for the woman's eye. Azula didn't miss her mark, she never missed her mark.

Naturally Zhu-Ling recoiled, tossing Azula's hand out of her own.

Azula didn't allow her the chance to recover before landing a fiery kick to the woman's ribs. She dropped on contact.

Azula could hear the footsteps echoing down the hall long before they got to the room; and there were many of them.

Azula snarled to herself before deciding her best option was probably to hide. And she had to do it quick—which was awfully hard given that she was in such an unfamiliar place. But she had size's advantage; she was small, most of them were not. And thanks to Tang-Shin's neglect, she found herself able to squeeze through some pretty absurdly tight spaces.

And that was what she chose to do, slid herself between two shelves—taking the care to choose a pair that wasn't positioned against the wall, she could escape through the other side if caught.

"We can't kill her yet." Zhu-Ling pointed out.

"Don't tell me what to do." Tang-Shin roared. There came a great noise as the man threw, Azula couldn't know what, to the floor.

She'd be lying if she said her heart wasn't racing. She found herself pressing herself much closer to the shelf.

Azula held her breath as two of Tang-Shin's men brushed past her hiding spot.

"Exactly how damn hard is it to find her!? This room isn't that big!" Tang-Shin hollered tossing another heavy object to the floor.

More footsteps. These stopping just before her hiding spot. She cast a glace to the opening she'd left herself.

No good.

Not anymore.

One of those burly men had taken to blocking it.

Azula found out those heavy objects Tang-Shin was throwing were shelves when she heard her hiding place crash to the floor.

Every asylum personal seemed to jump her all at once.

Tang-Shin waited for his men to chi block the princess before taking her by the hair and pulling her upright. "As far as I'm concerned you just sealed your fate." He shoved her over to Hiru's disfigured form. " _That_ …is your fate."

Azula allowed herself to make no sound though every part of her protested such a lack of action.

"How about I show you what the operation is like?" Tang-Shin offered. "You see, we found a special plant extract. Very poison…very infectious. Mixed with similarly special lizardrat venom, a swarm of roachants and mud from the Serpent's Pass, we've found a way to make a biological very strong biological weapon." He pulled on a pair of gloves. "All it needs is a human host to manifest within."

He scooped up some of the mentioned substance—the same substance Azula had observed weeping from Hiru's body when she first saw it.

With unfogged eyes she could make out movement within the slush…the roachants weren't dead ingredients. They were still crawling around. Moving in and out of the slop as one swarming unit.

Tang-Shin picked up a near-by scalpel. Without a second thought he cut into Hiru's head. "Hiru here is in the final stage of the process. If the operation is a success then the roachants will burrow into her brain and the infection will be complete. She'll have enough functionality left to keep her brain and body running long enough to pass the infection along to the next person. Think of it like a pentapox outbreak. Of course the operation can fail and she'll simply die." He jabbed the knife deeper in.

A sharp cry filled the room; he hadn't put Hiru to sleep before the operation. He had no plans to do so.

His hand moved into the virus riddled muck and dripped it into the opening he had made in his victim's head. Azula watched it ebb slowly from his grasp to the poor girl on the gurney. It bubbled and sizzled on contact, a sort of steam wisping up into the air.

The smell of rotting flesh thick and dense.

The girl's eyes seemed to roll back.

"It's a shame I can't show you the operation from its very beginning." He muttered. "Zhu-Ling, strap the princess to her new bed." He looked back at Azula. "As soon as I finish with Hiru, I will in fact show you how to perform the operation. You'll get some hands on experience."


	9. Chapter 9

That night Azula dreamed.

After a long while of staring at the ceiling, the cold metal shackles biting her hands all the while, and enduring Ling-Ling's attempts to make conversation, she had found herself in something of a sleep.

Her dream wasn't unpleasant.

The dream was a bit of a blur; she was a little girl again. Ling-Ling and Heekul were both real people, her mother loving. Zuko had joined them in whatever game they were playing.

Azula, upon waking could most vividly remember the faces and the smells—freshly cut grass and her mother's floral perfume lingered on the fringes of her imagination threatening to pour into reality. And they were smiling, everyone was smiling. Genuine, not hint of malice or cruelty.

If she were to have only one last dream before the upcoming operation took its toll…she'd choose to re-dream this one.

She shut her eyes in hopes of conjuring it up again. But the rottenness of her surroundings, the smell of death and decay—the general air of hopelessness and despair didn't provide the right environment to purposely summon such a beautiful dream.

Heekul, Ling-Ling…her mother they all sang a sort of lullaby. Telling her to sleep well for tomorrow will be hell.

Zuko wasn't having an easy sleep himself by tomorrow's close, it was sacrifice his crown or sacrifice his sister. Mai was pushing the later of the two.

He racked his brain trying to uncover anything that might solve the situation—make it work completely in his benefit…in Azula's.

Nothing had come to mind.

Not a single useful thought.

He too dreamed that night, but his dream was a horror; Azula stood before him clad in a white dress, hair done up all pretty, eyes clear and focused, a slight smile on her face. The wind tugged softly at her bangs, it was so sunny. Upon a second glace Azula stood there motionlessly, her pretty white dress splotched in blood. There wasn't a part of her not drenched in the stuff. Her now hair disheveled eyes void of all color but black. The sun had faded, the wind halted. Everything was at a standstill until she opened up her mouth and let out an ear-piercing scream—more blood spilling from her mouth to the floor.

He woke up.

Just as her brother woke in the night, Azula woke that morning. She hadn't really the chance to open her eyes when Tang-Shin strode up to her.

Heekul. Ling-Ling. Her mother. All of them gathered around to bid her a farewell.

The man was talking but Azula was focused on the tools in his hand. He bought the scalpel first to her stomach, just above her belly button, lingering there for a moment before realizing her clothing was getting in the way of his procedure.

He cut the cloth away leaving her feeling much too exposed. She trembled lightly as the cool air nipped at her bare skin. She tried to reimagine her dream again, just when she had a grasp on it, the cold of that metal scalpel tarring it away.

She felt it break skin, effortlessly.

Layer by layer.

She wouldn't scream. She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

He drew with his surgical tool a thin line reaching just below her breasts. The sensation was sharp and burning as her flesh broken and split. She hadn't consciously called the tears to her eyes, but they were there no less. They came as the stinging sensation branched out from its core to her entire middle, her sides, and then some.

She clenched her hands together, the action did little to ease the pain. In fact it'd probably add to it somewhere down the road as she clenched tighter and tighter. Her nails had already dug fairly deep into her palms.

Another figure or two…or maybe three—at this point Azula's vision was beginning to blur too much to tell for sure—appeared around her.

"Get me…" Tang-Shin's voice was fading in and out. It was like her ears were filled with water…the man sounded so distant.

She felt another stab of pain, something…two things had punctured her body hovering above her ribs.

One of the figures—it was one of the twins…they were both there—handed Tang-Shin another tool. He stabbed it in what Azula could only assume was a vital organ. At that, the girl could take no more. She found herself fading out. It was better that way anyways, she had not a speckle of desire to feel that roachant ooze meet her body.

Kirah watched the girl pass out. She'd seen Hiru do it many of times—and all the patients before her. Her job was made no easier. Kirah had fled from the operating room one time. With the threat of becoming the next experiment hanging over her head, she hadn't dared do it again.

She wondered if her sister ever felt the need to run. If that cold, hard expression was for show. Or if she really didn't care at all what she was assisting.

Kirah watched Tang-Shin's gloved hand dip into the roachant slop. That was where she had decided to flee the last time.

"Kirah," Tang-Shin muttered, "go to room 0103 and get me some more roachant extract."

She was more than delighted to leave the room. She left it swiftly…too swiftly. Swiftly enough for Tang-Shin to tsk and remind her of what a shame it would be to lose such a good employee.

Kirah reached room 0103, her hand hovered above the door knob before she bolted in the other direction.

Zuko tossed on his finest, most showy robe. In only an hour or two he'd be arguing for some other negotiation. A third option in which the crown remained in his hands and Azula safe. His thoughts shifted to offering Ozai's release.

He had a whole army at his disposal and he couldn't bring himself to use it. There were so many ways to take the emperor and his people out and yet…

He could practically hear Azula yelling at him; "even when you're strong you're weak." The words never truly left him. They always seemed to resurface whenever he couldn't bring himself to overpower anyone. They seemed more relevant now more than ever.

There came a knock on his door. "Not now Mai."

"I'm not Mai. I have something I think you'd want…you need to hear."

Zuko considered before pulling the door open.

Kirah pushed her way inside, helping herself to his bed.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to tell you not to hand over your crown. Don't even try to reason with the emperor." She paused before adding a quick "there is no point."

Before Zuko could get any words in she continued. "There was a sort of miscommunication. Rather Tang-Shin went behind Akuzan's back. Your sister's life is has already been jeopardized, there's nothing to bargain for."

"Are you saying she's dead?"

"She will be if you don't man up and deploy your army."

.o0o.

She could feel them crawling within her, tickling her insides in the most unpleasant and invasive way. And she could do nothing to get them out. If her hands were not bound she'd without question pry the stitching apart and tear them out herself.

To go with this crawling sensation was a never wavering need to throw up. Her stomach muscles bunched up and tense as if ready to do just that. But whatever was in that ooze, it wouldn't let her body expel it. And so she was stuck with that nauseous feeling and no means to get rid of it.

Azula had no way of telling for sure how much time had passed. Zhu-Ling had mentioned the passing of a day. But that seemed like a long time back.

At this point Azula had lost the ability to even twitch her fingers and toes. Her arms felt so heavy (legs likewise), stuffed with that vial roachrat extract. She couldn't see them, but she could imagine that they were swollen beyond belief based upon how tightly the cuffs and straps were becoming.

She felt like a child's favored doll; abused, torn, and stitched. Overstuffed and held down by whatever work was put into keeping her together so the child could resume play. Completely naked as the child had lost her cloths.

Her mind was all fuzzy again—no medication needed, just a dose of pain and her mind's own defensive attempts to ward it off. She welcomed the fuzz. It was doing its job, it's not like she was going anywhere anytime soon anyhow.

The door clicked open. They were going to hurt her again. And like a lifeless toy, she couldn't fight back.

The voice that crept it's way over Azula was soothing, full of promise. "This ends today, I have a plan."

More people came join the speaker. These people were there to marvel at what Azula was becoming. Tang-Shin there to help the process along.

Today, if Azula calculated right would be the day they stitched her eyes shut. She was rather fond of her eyes and hated going down without a fight.

Azula hadn't quite thought that the last thing she'd ever see would be Tang-Shin brandishing a drill all too close to her eye.  _He looked strange_ , Azula realized. His face was bruised at battered. Azula hadn't realize that she'd asked him what happed until he had tossed the drill in a bought of anger and was in her face, screaming that it was all her fault.

All her fault that he was no longer in the Emperor's favor. All her fault that the man wouldn't allow him to fight at his side. Furthermore that; "since I can't help the Emperor, I will put all my time into destroying you."

Azula found herself laughing. If she could get him in trouble without having to even leave one spot, her influence must be at its peak. And yet she knew that it had nothing to do with her, and everything to do with him going against some order or another.

To ebb the unease away she spent time trying to connect the dots; he had told her that they were making weapons. He had told her that she was a bargaining chip. He mentioned the Emperor…or so she thought.

As Tang-Shin made another cut, this one by the corner of her eye, she put it together. _Tang-Shin was to be making weapons for the Emperor, she was not supposed to be one of them. She was leverage, something to keep Zuko out of the way. Tang-Shin performed the operation on her anyhow. Zuko found out (Azula didn't have the faintest clue as to how) and then the Emperor found out as well when Zuko refused to make any deals with him—or something like that._

Azula smirked to herself.  _After the Emperor found out, he got pissy with his good friend Tang_.

From off in the distance Azula could hear an explosion. Perhaps she as imagining it. Perhaps it was the drill meeting her head. But she wasn't in any pain…and Tang-Shin had turned around to find the source of the sound too.

Once again the man flung the drill at the floor, this time it shattered revealing a complex system of broken cogs and screws. Well it would have been a complex system if it weren't in pieces. He was at the door when it busted in.

The scene was dizzying and played out all too fast for Azula. She watched man after man fall. Zhu-Ling among them. Her hands found themselves unbound, and then her legs.

Her own actions were just as murky—she remembered finding strength. Its source being anger and a drive for vengeance.

She threw Tang-Shin to the table with such violent force that even she was impressed.

"I recall you mentioning that this operation is something you only preform on…people like me?"

The man nodded.

"Wonderful, then I have a perfect subject to preform it on." Azula gave him the cruelest smirk her features would allow. "It takes a truly sick man to do what you've done…yes?"

Tang-Shin offered her no answer.

"It's a good thing you showed me how to do this, otherwise I'd go in blind." Azula pointed out before carelessly taking the scalpel to Tang-Shin's stomach. "I'm not left handed and I'm using my right hand to hold you down. So you'll have to excuse my poor hand-work."

Between the haze in her head and the use of her left hand, her work was extremely sloppy, not that she cared in the slightest. In this case, the messier, the better.

She could feel the man tremble beneath her. He went limp as his body split open. Azula looked around for the gloves. Deciding that her hand was already infested with the slop, she went to scoop it out with her bare hand. Hovering it there for only a moment she had a better idea.

"Forgive me, but you never told me how much to use, so I'll just take a guess." She shrugged before dropping the entire tin of slop into the opening she had created.

She felt a hand around her waist, it tugged her away from her victim. She'd forgotten again, to pay attention to her surroundings.

Not her fault, she decided, she was simply dazed again.

She expected the same hand to begin delivering harsh blows to her face. Instead came the soothing voice again. "You've done enough to him. You're going to hurt yourself if you don't stop. Besides, your brother is expecting me to bring you to him" "…safely." The woman added after a moment.

Azula felt her own body go limp, she slumped over with only the support of her newfound companion's arm to hold her upright. Her arms and legs were suddenly feeling very heavy again, without that drive to destroy.

She was all drowsy again and bordering on falling asleep.

The woman…her friend now had her scooped up, cradling her like a baby, as she took to the door.

They found sunlight. Azula's eyes were burning, she hadn't seen light in so long. She missed it. The warmth was beautiful…wonderful. She enjoyed it's kiss on her skin.

Yet the air smelled heavily of smoke and death. Would she ever escape it?

Ashes rained down from the sky, dusting the grass below. It was then that she realized the brightness…the warmth was in fact, not of the sun's making. In fact, the sun was clouded over by a dense smoke.

Everything was on fire.

She wasn't afraid.

Those flames were her salvation.

She closed her eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

Azula woke up lying face up on her bed. Her head ached with a dull phantom pain. Her lips parted to call out for…she couldn't remember, didn't know whom.

Her vision was much too cloudy.

She tried to sit herself upright, sending a small ripple of pain over her body. She shuddered and her muscles seemed to give out sending her falling back to the pillow—basking in its softness. She had missed her own bed…her own pillow. How did she get there?

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "You awake?"

"More or less." She murmured. "How long have I…"

"Just two days." Zuko answered.

She gave him the best slap she could muster up. "This is all your fault you know?"

"I figured as much." Zuko replied.

Neither spoke for a good while. When Azula grew certain that the conversation would not resume she let herself fall back asleep—basking in the warmth of her blankets and the silky mattress cover. She'd try to leave her bed tomorrow.

Tomorrow had come faster than Azula had hoped.

Ignoring the pain as best she could, she forced herself out of bed. Her body was sluggish and for once, miles behind her mind. Her head was pounding…again. Of course it was, lately her head always seemed to be in some sort of agony or another.

Her body shivered despite her demands for it to stop, as she pulled herself along. She was without a doubt tired. She was hungry, and thirsty, and dirty. She wanted nothing more than a bath. A long one. A hot one. It'd probably take three scrubs over to cleanse the grim that had been building up on her skin.

Azula rubbed her eyes hopping to ebb away the sleep and the blur. It half worked. She would try to fix up her hair…that would at least be a start. She could already hear Zuko scolding her for pushing herself too hard. But that didn't change the facts—she didn't want to look a mess, she wanted to tidy herself up.

Azula was now standing before the mirror. She knew she probably looked a wreck…awful in fact, but she hadn't anticipated that it would be this disastrous.

Her hair was tangled practically beyond salvation, it didn't help that it was much longer than when she had last seen it. As suspected, Azula was covered from head to toe in ash, dirt, blood, and whatever else a person could dirty him or herself with.

Her dry skin was much too pale, sickly so…or at least she assumed so, she couldn't quite tell through the dust covering her skin.

Her eyes looked so tired—as exhausted as her body felt—so vacant. Swollen and puffy. She bought her hand to her left eye, fingers barely grazing it before flitching away at the stinging sensation. Her lips weren't in a much better state, chapped and cracking. Her cheeks bruised and swollen from every punch she had sustained. Her temples burned and scarred by her 'new treatment'.

Azula felt weak and dizzy. This face, it wasn't truly her own.

Tarring her eyes away from the wreck that was her face, she scanned her small, food-deprived body. Hell, she'd seen homeless peasants who looked less thin and starved than she. Evidently her body was just as bad as her face, if not worse. Beneath that dusty cover she could make out the tell-tale train track stitching. It webbed all over her midsection and down her sides. Where the stitches had not reached she was marred with more bruises and knots.

By which time Azula's reflection revealed that she was trembling again. This time with both anger and…something else. Something she didn't welcome. But the emotion was there no less.

Of course she hadn't really gotten to the worst part yet. Like Hiru, particularly around the stitching, her body swelled and bulged in odd places. Said bulges were horribly discolored and seemed to be weeping the concoction the were born from.

It took her much longer than it should have to realize that the reason she was able to observe all of this in the first place was because Zuko—and everyone else—couldn't be bothered to cloth her. Azula could have killed them all right then and there.

But instead, her stomach lurched, she felt her body sway…almost losing her footing.

She was so damaged. Physically and mentally spent. She was overtaken by rage and sadness…by shock and betrayal. She had never felt so ugly and disgusting. She used to be so beautiful, a startling and stunning presence. What was she now?

The answer was obvious. She was a monster, truly a monster—inside and out. And so it was that Azula let herself collapse in a heap on the ground, sobbing bitterly. Her nails digging into her scalp as she fought to gain any semblance of control…maintain any last scrap of dignity.

Azula dragged herself back to her bed, with no intention of actually leaving it again anytime soon. She tried to think of something…anything positive. The only thing that seemed to come to mind was Tang-Shin and dumping his own creation into his lacerated stomach. Part of her hoped he was still alive to endure what she was now.

"Azula, are you alright?" A new sort of fury awakened within Azula, as Zuko entered the room.

He sat down on the bed next to her.

Mistake.

Azula shoved him away with a series of punches and slaps. "You did this! This is your fault!" She hadn't realized she was screaming. Screaming and repeating 'this is your fault.' Zuko didn't seem fazed, perhaps her muscles didn't put forth as much strength as they used to. She slammed her fists down on him three more times—each less heartfelt than the one prior—and then collapsed into his arms with gasping cries.

She felt his hand on her back. He was holding her tightly, but with care to avoid irritating the tender spots on her body.

He wrapped the blanket back around her quivering form as she continued to weep silently. Her hands clutched his shirt with more strength then she really actually had at the moment. "I sent the servants to prepare you a bath and a meal."

"That's not going to make it any better." Azula managed between teary breaths. "You sent me there to make me pay for..." her voice cracked.

Zuko's eyes grew rather wide. "I didn't Azula. I didn't know that they would…I didn't realize they would do that to you. That whole island, they wanted the crown and they…"

"I know." Azula whispered.

"About the crown, or that I didn't want you to hurt you?"

"Both." She replied softly and flopped out of his arms and back into her laying position.

"I'm going to fix this Azula." He promised.

"You can't." Her voice was muffled by the pillow.

"They're…" She motioned to each and every mutilated part of her body, "they're like your scars. You can't fix this."

Zuko squeezed her shoulder. "I'm going to try."

"And I'm going to be stuck like this forever." Her crying picked up again. "…A monster inside and out."

Zuko squeezed her hand. "That's not true." He could feel the silence falling again, well silence aside from Azula's soft, breathy cries. This time instead of leaving he sat there quietly rubbing circles on her back—that had always made him feel better when his mother did it to him.

After a while, Zuko decided that Azula must have worn herself out as she was no longer weeping into the pillow. At this point she was kind of just lying there staring at the wall, a tear still clinging to the corner of her eye. He watched her breathe in and out, her shaking finally subsiding.

"Kirah knows how to reverse the operation." Zuko pointed out. "She can start on that tomorrow."

Azula nodded.

"But it has some side effects…fever and temporary paralysis."

She nodded again.

"Your bath should be ready now. Your  _real_  meds are on the counter, by the sink." He helped her to her feet. She was still clutching the blanket, tugging it as tightly to her body as she possibly could as he led her down the hallway. Halfway to the bathroom she mentioned that she wanted to bathe alone…without the servants to pamper her. Zuko suspected that it had more to do with her not wanting them to see the sloppy stitch work than it did her wanting to give them a break.

He dismissed them anyhow. "If you need something, I'll be waiting out here." He took a seat by the door.

"If I need anything, you can get me one of the servants." Apparently Azula still had some fight in her…and she was using it to tell him that, despite her current state, she still had some dignity and that she, therefore, still wasn't into incest.

With that she closed the door behind her and let her blanket glide to the floor at her ankles.

The bathwater was a temperature between hot and warm. It was pretty soothing she had to admit as she lowered herself beneath the surface. A friendly steam lifted off of the water and into the air, fogging up the mirror.

Azula wasn't unhappy about this, she didn't exactly desire to see herself at the moment.

She let simply just sat there for a while, soaking in the feeling of clean water against her skin. After a minute or so passed she set to work on actually cleaning herself. She scrubbed at her arm until she could see the pale skin beneath the grime…and then some, until the spot grew red. She repeated this for every inch of her body—aside from the cut and stitched places.

And then Azula moved onto her hair scrubbing it down the best she could…until it  _felt_  clean.

The water was so tainted and murky she decided it was best to drain and refill the bathtub. She did so and repeated the process until the water remained clear. It was quite a wonderful, refreshing feeling. Her body almost felt lighter without its blood and dirt coverage.

Draining the bath once more, Azula stood and dried herself and downed her medications. She took a deep breath and draped the silk robe Zuko had left for her, over her shoulders. She smelled clean, she missed smelling clean. It was a floral scent, Azula couldn't quite remember what kind of soap she had used, she kind of just picked one.

She still couldn't bring herself to stand before the mirror again. She was never good at doing her own hair anyhow. So she walked out of the bathroom.

Azula nudged Zuko's sleeping form with her foot. "Some guard you are."

The man shook himself awake. "If you didn't take so long…"

He knew it was coming before she said it; "If you hadn't sent me there…" He couldn't really argue, she was right.

"Dinner is ready…or it should be."

"Bring it to my room." Azula turned in said direction.

"Aren't you going to come down stairs? Ty-Lee heard you were back and she…"

Azula hugged her arms to her chest. It was bad enough that Zuko got to see her in this state. But Ty-Lee? Mai? She quickened her pace and slinked into her room. She slid once again back into bed, this time clinging to one of her pillows.

Not even ten minutes later Zuko approached her room with some kind of steaming soup and a glass of even steamier tea. Not far behind him was Ty-Lee, carrying some other side dish. Azula rolled on her side facing away from the cheery acrobat.

The girl flopped down next to her. "Why are you mad at me?"

Azula heard Zuko shuffle away, probably so he wouldn't get an earful for bringing the girl with him.

"I'm not."

"Then why won't you look at me?" Ty-Lee pouted.

"I don't want to."

"Come on, please." Azula still couldn't' see Ty-Lee's face but she knew the girl was making those ridiculous puppy eyes. She cartwheeled over to Azula's other side. The princess tossed the covers over her head.

"That's no fair!" Ty-Lee hollered and tugged at the blanket. "I haven't see you in so long."

Azula slid her hand out from under the blanket. "There, you've seen my hand, you can go back by Zuko now."

"If you come out from under there I can feed you your…"

"I can feed myself!" Azula snapped, her mind drifting to the chilling scrape of metal on her teeth...the jab of the fork against her teeth. Needless to say her words came out more aggressively then they needed to.

"I was just trying to help." Ty-Lee muttered.

Azula hugged the pillow closer to her. "I know."

The girl tugged the blanket off of Azula's face. The princess didn't open her eyes. She didn't want to see whatever expression was on Ty-Lee's face. She felt the girl's fingers glide over one of the most swollen bruises. "What did they do to you?" Her question was vocalized at a volume just above a whisper.

Azula squeezed her eyes shut harder.

"That looks like it hurts…" Ty-Lee frowned, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Is this why you won't come downstairs?"

Azula sighed and nodded affirmatively. She reached for the spoon on her nightstand.

"It's hot." Ty-Lee cautioned as she handed Azula the bowl of soup.

The acrobat watched Azula bring the spoon to her mouth, it was done with all the grace and elegance Ty-Lee remembered of the princess. "You're really pretty."

Azula said nothing, looking just as downcast as before.

"I mean it, you are."

Her nod of disagreement was done ever so slightly, Ty-Lee almost hadn't caught it. She waited until Azula was finished with her soup before taking her into a comforting embrace. "Yes you are." Ty-Lee insisted, running her thumb over Azula's hand. "You just need some rest and…" she skipped over to Azula's dresser and snatched up the hair brush, "…this."

Azula let the circus girl mess around with her hair (braiding it, ponytailing it, even pigtailing it) until she was satisfied—the girl settled on just leaving it lose and tossed over Azula's right shoulder. It was definitely much longer than she was used to.

Azula bought herself to mutter a thank you as Ty-Lee flounced around the room trying to recall exactly where she had taken the comb from.

She sat back down on the bed. "Zuko tells me that you're going to get some kind of surgery tomorrow?"

"To fix these, yes." Azula opened her robe enough to let the acrobat see one of the many brownish-yellow bulges on her stomach.

Ty-Lee cringed. "That really looks…"

_Gross_. Azula filled in, in her head.  _Sick_.

"Painful." Ty-Lee finished.

Azula shrugged, her unease slowly fading away. Apparently Ty-Lee wasn't going to pass judgments afterall. "I guess I'm sort of used to it." She winced—truth be told she was only fine when she wasn't thinking about it; that crawling feeling never truly had left. She covered herself up again. "I suppose I'm just ready to get it taken care of."

"I'm glad you're okay." Ty-Lee added as she handed Azula her tea and side dish…some sort of meat.

"Yeah." Azula replied and took a sip of her tea. "More or less." She never really thought that feeding herself would be such a luxury. Nor that well-cooked would be a thing to appreciate.

"I'll run this downstairs for you." Ty-Lee offered when Azula finished. She took the plate and the bowl from her hands. "You still drinking that?"

"Yes." Azula tapped her fingers on the teacup's porcelain surface.

"I'll be right back." Ty-Lee bounced off the bed.

Azula lowered her head back to the pillow. She was asleep before Ty-Lee came back. Even in sleep she couldn't seem to escape that place. She found herself once again strapped to the cold, unforgiving, metal operating table. Zhu-Ling and Tang-Shin looming over her, their faces were distorted and nasty. His scalpel jabbed into her eye.

She bolted up right, beads of nervous sweat forming along her hairline. She was breathing heavily, heart thudding.

She felt a hand a top hers. She jumped back before registering that it was only Ty-Lee. The girl had decided to keep her company. Azula let the girl lower her back down.

They had something of a conversation. Azula remembered bits and pieces through her sleepy haze. She remembered laughing. In the morning, Ty-Lee's recollection of that moment was even foggier then hers. The acrobat thought she had dreamed up the entire conversation.

Azula only remembered telling Ty-Lee of her nightmare and then Ty-Lee making some stupid pun about Tang-Shin.

She had awoken before Ty-Lee, the girl was sprawled out on the floor.

Azula was feeling quite better…well-rested at the very least. She yawned and stretched her arms before getting out of bed and instinctually going over to her dresser and mirror. Azula found herself cringing and biting her lip upon looking up.

Truth be told, looking at her reflection wasn't a total mistake. Azula looked a great deal better; some of that puffiness had left her eyes. They still bore the lines of sleep deprivation but they weren't so vacant, they had their spark back. Her face was still very much bruised but the swelling and gone down and they were starting to fade… _starting_.

Azula decided to dab some lipstick on and ran a brush through her sleep tousled hair.

"Hey!" Ty-Lee hollered. "You didn't tell me you were awake…I wanted to do your hair again." She mumbled.

"You nervous about the operation?"

"No." Azula replied. "Not at all really." Compared to everything else Tang-Shin had put her through, this would be nothing. At least they were trying to help her, at least she'd be asleep or at the very least numbed for this procedure.

Azula took the cup of tea from her bedside, reheated it, took a seat on the edge of her bed, and finished what was left of the liquid inside.

Zuko stepped into the room. "You feeling any better? Ty-Lee didn't bother you too much did she?"

"Hey!" Ty-Lee exclaimed for the second time in under fifteen minutes.

"I suppose. I'll be doing much better once this operation is over and done with. And Ty-Lee…" Azula glanced at the girl who was now balancing on her hands. "…She was a joy."

Zuko offered her a smile. "Good to hear. Kirah is ready whenever you are."

Azula stood. "I'll get dressed."

"You don't have to, Kirah will be preforming the reverse-operation here...in the palace." He added quickly. "Not your room."

"I could have figured that one out dum-dum."

"It's good to have you back." Zuko led her down the hall, Ty-Lee prancing a little ways behind.

"Swell to see you again, and under better circumstances." Kirah motioned Azula to a bed. "This is actually a fairly simple fix, as the infection hadn't had a chance to spread. All I'm going to have to do is open up the stitches and the bulges and from there, drain the roachant extract. I'll also have to cleanse the infected areas as well—that's what Lily is here for, she's a friend of mine, a waterbender." She pointed to a brown haired girl.

Azula positioned herself on the bed.

"If all goes well, you'll be back to your normal self in about a week."

"That's too long." Azula murmured.

"You ready?" Kirah asked.

"Yes."

Kirah held a little small leaf under Azula's nose. These asylum workers…former asylum workers were just full of herbal surprises. Azula began to nod off. It wasn't a painful blackout like the other times, it was quick and easy, a foreign calm creeping over her as she slipped out.

Azula awoke in her bed, Ty-Lee's hand over hers, Zuko and Mai across the room looking in her direction. She tried to push herself upright, her arms found no strength at all. And then she remembered the paralysis. So she lie there staring up at the ceiling. This was going to be a long week. "I don't like this." Azula declared. "I want to sit up."

"Morning, Azula!" Ty-Lee chirped. "The reverse-operation went really well." She helped Azula into a sitting position, leaning against her bedpost. She held out Azula's arm so that she could see Kirah's work. The girl did a pretty good job; aside from a crescent shaped scar, any sign of the roachant bulges vanished.

She was also rather delighted to no longer feel the insects crawling beneath her skin. The thought bought a sort of tingling sensation to her arm. One that she couldn't scratch.  _A whole week like this_ …Azula didn't know how much patience she had to deal with it. "I don't suppose you're going to be my care taker?" Azula asked.

Ty-Lee's dopey grin doubled in size. "For the whole week!" She hopped off of the bed. "Which means I'll get to comb your hair every day!" She fetched said instrument and flounced back onto the bed.

Azula glanced over at Zuko.

He nodded. "Mai and I will be here as well."

"We're gonna have a great time!" Ty-Lee threw her arms around Azula.

"Maybe you will." Azula grumbled. The acrobat was lucky Azula couldn't shove her off. "Ty-Lee…get off of me."

Ty-Lee put on her little pout again. "Don't want too."

And so the girl would cling to Azula for as long as she pleased—a snickering Zuko didn't show any signs of pulling Azula out of Ty-Lee's embrace…nor did Mai, who busied herself with examining her nails.

"I hope you three have some ideas as to how you're going to entertain me."

"Have you heard about what happened in those three days you were getting that operation?" Zuko asked.

"Exactly how long do you think you can drag the story out?" Azula asked.

"Not very long." He shrugged. "But it'll use up a few minutes."

"Well…go on the." Azula prompted.

He pondered how to begin. "Some time after Tang-Shin took you in for the operation, Kirah told me what had happened. Once I found out that Tang-Shin planned on turning you into a weapon of some kind I decided I wasn't going to try to negotiate with the Akuzan anymore…Akuzan—when I showed him proof that Tang was treating you poorly, admitted that he knew the whole time and he was using you…"

"You are horrible at telling stories." Azula interrupted. "For the record Tang-Shin already told me that I was leverage."

"Alright…skipping that." Zuko mumbled. "After Kirah had told me Tang-Shin was already operating on you I may or may not have lost my temper. So I sent fleets of ships to the island with orders to just set everything and anything on fire."

Azula sniggered. "You would."

"So would you!" He shot back.

"Well…yes." Azula admitted. "But I would send in the war balloons too. Make a grand entrance."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Anyways, they had some allies in the Earth Kingdom. I informed these allies that emperor Akuzan was not acting in their best interests, that he in fact, was trying to put our father…I mean our as in mine and yours, not mine and the Earth Kingdom's father…"

"Really bad at telling stories." Azula whispered to Ty-Lee. The girl giggled.

Zuko cleared his throat and continued. "…That he was trying to put our father back in power. I tried to convince them to fight alongside us—the Fire Nation military and I. But they claimed that they no longer wanted any involvement. I didn't have time to argue with them so instead I sent another fleet of ships to block any attempts to escape the island. It was a pretty quick and easy fight really. I had Kirah lead an army…"

"Kirah led an army?" Azula laughed.

"Sort of." Zuko answered. "I told them to listen to her. Apparently they did, because they followed her into the institution and got you out. Speaking of which…Kirah told me you murdered Tang-Shin with his own roachants?"

If Azula could have shrugged, she would have. "He deserved it" she stated nonchalantly. "Zhu-Ling did too, but I didn't get to her."

"Yes, she was one of the people who tried to escape. Her boat sunk pretty fast. Anyhow, I don't believe there's much left of Sun Dragon Island. In fact I don't think there is anything left of it."

"Nothing at all?" Azula asked.

"A giant floating rock maybe."

The four of them shared a laugh…just like old times.

.o0o.

Azula closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She had to do this.

She had to go back there at least once.

Since returning home from that Agni forsaken island, not one night had passed where she hadn't dreamed of being caught with in the bowels that place. The nightmares ranged anywhere from a dream-relived experience of something that had actually happened, to a distorted…hellish version of all the hallways, filled with vial creatures. Other times she would be one of the vial creatures, or more likely, she'd see herself after a completed operation…like Hiru.

With the nightmares came a certain paranoia that Tang-Shin had somehow survived.

There was a night when she had almost overdosed in an attempt to get the paranoia to subside.

That was when Zuko finally caved. He promised her that when she could walk again, he'd take her to Sun Dragon Island.

He seemed to dread the day more than she.

Zuko had waited an extra day, to make sure she'd be alright. After looking his sister over he decided that today was as good a day as any; she no longer looked tired or sickly thin, for the most part she was back to the girl he knew. Aside from that one particularly nasty bruise, there was really no sign of what she had gone through.

Azula stepped off the boat, using Zuko's hand for support—her balance was still quite off, her movement sloppy from a long lack of use. But her thoughts were clear and determined.

Aang stood behind them, filtering the air of any harmful impurities, Azula wasn't keen on the avatar seeing her in such a tense and uneasy state.

She stepped over pile of charred wood—beneath it, what may have once been a human being.

The place reeked of death and smoke. Of burned flesh and something else…something rotten. The ground, hot beneath her feet, was a mess of ash and blackness. Nothing was alive.

Nothing.

She looked at the hollow and broken skeleton of her old prison. Smoke still billowed off of it as if it had just been set aflame.

With a certain fury she thrust a ball of fire into the haunting structure.

It toppled with a groan.

Azula closed her eyes.

It was over now.

All that remained were the crescent shaped scars.


End file.
